Bad Blood
by Emmy The Queen Salvatore
Summary: Bloodlines will be torched. Battle lines will be drawn. Thousand armies couldn't keep them out. They've come to burn your kingdom down. SEQUEL TO BLOOD QUEEN. Incorporates TVD 5 and The Originals.
1. Light 'Em Up

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or any other show I draw plot lines and inspiration from in any shape or form. The only character I own are my OCs, Emma and Adria. **

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A few years had passed since Emma and Damon had moved with Adria from Aix-en-Provence to Seattle, Washington. In that time, Emma had fully rebuilt her ties with the Originals and Stefan who had told Emma and his brother what had really happened on the island during the cure hunt. Katherine had shown up and killed Jeremy, awakening the true immortal Silas in the process whose whereabouts were still unknown. And the cure had been nowhere to be found. Unknown to Stefan, Eliza had been watching the younger Salvatore and stole the cure while he was occupied with a Hunter before giving it to Emma.

Over the years, Stefan had seen how happy his family was. Needing some time to learn to control his Ripper, Stefan had decided to go off to Europe. While Stefan left to find himself, Emma and Damon, masquerading as Adria's older siblings so as to not arouse suspicion, built up several successful businesses in Seattle while their daughter went to high school. However, the day Stefan left would turn out to be the day where everything changed. Enjoying the scenery of the water before leaving for Europe, Stefan sensed a presence behind him.

"I should thank you from releasing me from that cave." Stefan turned to see someone who looked like Katherine behind him.

"Silas," Stefan muttered, shocked.

"You're perceptive. You saw right through my disguise."

"After my failed attempt at getting the cure, I did my research on you. You can shapeshift into whoever you want. Besides, Katherine smells different. You smell…ancient, dangerous."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"What are you doing here?"

"I want the cure and I know Emma has it."

_Of course she has it,_ Stefan thought. _I should've known. She was always crafty._

"Why do you want it?"

"I created the immortality spell two thousand years ago. I can never die, so Nature needed to find a balance – a version of me that could die. A shadow-self – a doppelgänger."

"So, this is your real face? You're another one of them?"

"Not exactly." Silas' reflection in the window of Stefan's car showed that Silas was Stefan's identical twin. Silas then changed to his true form. "Hello, my shadow-self." He approached Stefan and stabbed him in the gut with a stake. "Do you have any idea what it's like to starve for two thousand years, wanting nothing more than to die?" Seeing a body-sized safe by the pier, Silas stuffed Stefan into the safe, locked him in, and tipped it over the edge into Puget Sound. Inside the safe, Stefan banged against the strong door as it began to fill with water. But he realized it was useless as the water engulfed him.

Meanwhile at the Salvatores' mansion in Seattle, Emma opened the door holding a bag of groceries. She saw Damon in the living room reading while Adria was in the kitchen doing her homework.

"Hey, Mom," said Adria as Damon waved casually.

"Hey. Addy, help me put these up and Damon, next time, you're going to go to the hospital to get blood. I'm exhausted from all the compelling I had to do."

"They increased security that much?"

"It was ridiculous. They acted like the stuff was frickin' gold." After Emma and Adria finished putting up the groceries, the Salvatore matriarch walked into the living room to rest, but suddenly the window shattered and a feisty brunette landed on Emma.

"Hey, cupcake," Katherine growled.

"Katherine," Emma returned as the two struggled. Katherine threw her against the door. Adria and Damon went to take the vampire down, but Emma sped in front of them. "No! This bitch is mine. I've been waiting to have a good old-fashioned cat fight with you."

"The feeling's mutual," Katherine sneered. "Would you believe I'm having a bad day? It started when your old friend, Bonnie Bennett, denied me my Silas-like immortality."

"Of course, because Katherine Pierce can't be happy with good old vampire-caliber immortality." Emma slammed Katherine to the ground, but Katherine immediately slammed Emma back against another wall. Emma took a vase resting on a cabinet and smashed it against Katherine's head.

"I deserved it. I never had friends or a family, or, you know, a life. But you did. You have everything, and it's not because you're a good little girl who deserves happiness, it's because you stole mine."

"I stole your happiness? You've killed more of my friends than I can count!" Katherine ran at Emma, but Emma blocked the vampire and threw her down the hall.

"I'll admit. That was nasty." Yelling in fury, Emma rushed at Katherine, who twisted Emma's arm and threw her into a glass door. Emma struggled on the floor as Katherine walked over, a stake in hand. "I have nothing, but I'm about to change that." She kicked Emma.

"Kicking someone while they're down...classy till the end, Katherine."

"Your end," Katherine laughed.

"Emma!" Damon yelled. Before Katherine could slam the stake down, Emma remembered she had the cure on her. She'd never let it leave her side since Eliza had given it to her. She shoved the cure into Katherine's mouth and slammed her jaw up so she had to swallow it. Katherine's eyes widened as the cure dissolved in her mouth. She then fell to the floor beside Emma, unconscious.

"Have a nice human life, Katherine." Damon looked at her, shocked.

"What did you…you should have killed her!"

"No."

"But Mom, she tried to kill you. Isn't that…like…fair?" Adria asked.

"Death would have been too kind. I gave her a far worse punishment," Emma replied as she stood up. "Have Eliza drop her off at a hotel."

The following day, Adria had left for school. Damon and Emma were having breakfast on the terrace.

"The Vatican tweets?" Damon asked, reading the newspaper. "God, I hate this decade." Emma chuckled and then noticed Nik walk up to the house from the surrounding forest. "Oh, look who it is. The little hybrid whose afraid to ask a blond out on a date."

"Shut up," Nik pouted.

"Hey, Nik," Emma greeted.

"Hi," he said nervously.

"What's with you?"

"Normally you're the last person I'd come to with this sort of thing, but it involves you too. I received this about a week ago." He handed her a letter.

"Klaus," Emma read, "I hear you have refused Elijah's offer. My freedom. What a shame. While you boys sort out your problems, I have one last thing to offer you. I've caught wind that there is a witch in New Orleans named Jane-Anne Deveraux plotting a move against you and Emmalyne. Hunt her down. What she has to say will rattle you so deeply to your core that chasing little old me will be the least of your concerns. It's been a fun six centuries, Klaus, but I've worn down too many good heels running from you. Love and hate, Katerina."

"What do you think?"

"Well, I think we're going to New Orleans."

"What about Adria?" Damon asked.

"We'll work it out. Nik, Marcel still runs that joint, right?"

"As far as I know."

"Let's not tell him we're coming. I'd like to know what our child has really been up to."

"I'll set up the plane tickets." Nik then flashed away.

"You want to tell me what's going on? I unfortunately don't speak Original," Damon muttered.

"It seems Katherine can't keep her nose out of trouble. I have to admit she's played her cards well. Trying to take me out and then scaring Nik shitless. New Orleans is the supernatural melting pot of the world as you know. A few hundred years ago, the Originals once ruled it until we were forced out by Mikael. It was actually the one time in my vampire life that Nik and I actually got along and didn't want to kill each other. It's now run by Marcel. Marcel's…special. He's a vampire that was sired through a combination of mine and Nik's blood. It was a bit of an experiment. He's the first and only vampire that's been sired through a combination of vampire blood."

"What are we going to tell Adria? She likes it here."

"She's not coming and neither are you."

"What!"

"Like you said, Adria likes it here. And with Adria's powers, I don't think it'd be a safe place for her. I'll go with Nik to New Orleans to deal with this."

"Are you going to tell him about last night?"

"Not just yet. I'd like to keep the leverage."

"What if you need me? What if you need help?" They walked into the living room and Emma removed two blue crystals from a tin box on the mantle.

"These are teleportation crystals that I received from a witch in the 1500s. Just think of the person you want to go to and you'll be there. It only works for one person so it'll just be between you and me. We'll also be able to communicate and sense each other through them. Keep it on you. I'm sure I'll be fine, Damon."

The next day, Emma had said her goodbyes to her family and left with Klaus for New Orleans. As Emma observed a tour guide leading a group down a street, Klaus entered a marketplace and headed toward a particular table where a woman wearing a headscarf sat with a crystal ball and similar wares. Seeing Klaus, she began to pack up her things.

"Good afternoon. Time for one more?" Klaus asked, sitting down.

"I have nothing to say to you."

"Oh, now that's not very amiable, is it? You don't even know me."

"I know what you are. Half-vampire, half-beast. You're the hybrid."

"I'm the Original hybrid, actually, but that's a long story for another time. I'm looking for someone. A witch. Perhaps you might be able to help me find her. Jane-Anne Deveraux."

"Sorry. I don't know." Hearing the conversation, Emma walked behind the woman and forced her to sit back down.

"Well, now that's a fib, isn't it?" she asked as Nik took the woman's hand and smiled.

"Now, you see, we know that you're a true witch amongst this sea of posers, so enough with the fabrications. I've quite a temper and my friend is quite famished after our plane ride here."

"Witches don't talk outta school in the Quarter. The vampire won't allow it. Those are the rules. I don't break Marcel's rules."

"Marcel's rules?" Emma chuckled. "Where do you suppose we might find Marcel?" After giving them a place to start, Emma and Klaus entered a bar where Marcel was performing karaoke on stage. Emma walked up the stairs to the second level while Klaus walked into the middle of the room. After finishing the song, Marcel noticed Klaus.

"Klaus," said Marcel, his companions noticing the sudden tension between the two vampires.

"Marcel," Klaus replied.

"Must be a hundred years since that nasty business with your papa."

"Has it been that long?"

"The way I recall it, he ran you outta town. Left a trail of dead vampires in his wake." They slowly approached one another and from the balcony Emma rolled her eyes at the theatrics.

"And yet how fortunate you managed to survive. My father, I'm afraid, I incinerated to dust." Klaus' aggressive tone alerted Marcel's companions to stand and ready themselves for a confrontation. It turned out there were much more than just a few of them, as half the restaurant got on its feet.

_How many vampires does he have under his thumb?_ Emma thought.

"Well, if I'd known you were coming back in town, if I had a heads-up…"

"What, Marcel? What would you have done?" Klaus and Marcel were nose to nose, the tension thick. Marcel paused before answering.

"I'd have thrown you a damn parade." Marcel's face broke into a wide grin and he laughed, which Klaus returned. They embraced like long-lost brothers. Marcel drew back and placed his hands on either side of Klaus' neck.

"Niklaus Mikaelson. My mentor, my savior, my sire."

"And what am I? Chopped liver?" Emma's airy voice asked as she jumped from the balcony to the main floor.

"Bloody Emmalyne!" Marcel smiled as they hugged. "The most beautiful vampiress of them all."

"I had written you off as dead, my friend."

"I rose like a phoenix from the ashes just like my sires. Let's get you a drink."

In another room a few minutes later, Marcel chuckled and joined Klaus and Emma at a small private table, though they were accompanied by a few of Marcel's companions. Marcel poured drinks for Klaus, Emma, and himself.

"It is good to see you."

"It's good to be home," said Klaus.

"Marcel, please tell me the current state of Bourbon Street is not your doing," Emma sighed.

"Something's gotta draw in the out-of-towners, otherwise we'd all go hungry." Emma peered at one of the guys flanking the doorway of the room.

"I see your friends are daywalkers."

"Yeah, yeah, I shared the secret of your daylight ring with a few buddies. Just the inner circle, though. The family."

"Tell me: how did you find a witch willing to make daylight rings?"

"I got the witches around here wrapped around my finger."

"Is that so?" Klaus chuckled. "We're looking for a witch by the name of Jane-Anne Deveraux. We have some business to settle." Marcel made eye contact with one of his cohorts.

"You two are looking for Jane-Anne? You probably oughta come with me." He stood up and laughed. "Showtime!"

Out on a street at night, a crowd of people began to form. Vampires walked along rooftops and jumped on cars, setting off alarms.

_What the bloody hell?_ Emma asked.

"Oh, how's your family?" Marcel asked Klaus.

"Those who live hate me more than ever."

"Ah, forget 'em. If your blood relations let you down, you make your own, eh? You two taught me that. What about you, Em? I heard you got married. A Salvatore, wasn't it?"

"The eldest."

"Hmm. Damon. I heard he's a real bastard. I always liked guys like that. Well, congratulations. I meant to send a wedding present, but you know how these things are and I don't think Eliza likes me very much. She won't take my calls to your office. Anyway, what's mine is yours, as always. Even my nightwalkers, the riff-raff." Marcel indicated to the vampires walking along and jumping from the rooftop before he grabbed a branch of a tree.

"They're hardly subtle, are they?"

"It's the Quarter. Ain't no such thing as subtle." Marcel whistled with his fingers and the surrounding crowd cheered. One vampire brought forward Jane-Anne, whose wrists were bound with rope in front of her. "Jane-Anne Deveraux! Give it up for Jane-Anne! Come on, let's hear it! Jane-Anne Deveraux, you have been accused of the practice of witchcraft beyond the bounds of the rules set forth, and enforced, by me. How do you plead?" He turned abruptly and walked over to Klaus and Emma. "Was that convincing? I studied law back in the '50s. Hold that thought." He returned to Jane-Anne. "Seriously, J, tick-tock. You know the drill. How do you plead?"

"I didn't do anything." The crowd laughed quietly.

"Mm, that's a lie. You know it, I know it, and you hate that I know it. It drives you witches crazy that I'm aware of your every move. That you can't do magic in this town without getting caught." Emma and Klaus looked at each other, curious. Never in the history of vampires had the immortal creatures of the night controlled the guardians of nature. "So, why don't we just cut to the chase, huh? You tell me what magic you're brewing. I mean, tell me. I'll grant you leniency. Hey, I am, after all, a merciful man." The crowd observed in utter silence. Jane-Anne scoffed, a disgusted look on her face.

"Rot in hell, monster." Shocked murmuring rumbled through the crowd. Marcel smiled.

"I'll tell you what. I'll give you one more chance..." Marcel started to walk away. Suddenly, he swung the branch he had so fast that it sliced open Jane-Anne neck. She immediately began to gag. Emma and Klaus looked away in shock and disgust. "Or not." Jane-Anne fell to the ground and the crowd cheered.

"Klaus…what the bloody hell…" Emma whispered.

"Not here," Klaus growled.

"I have an idea." Klaus looked at her, curious. A few minutes later, Klaus approached Marcel.

"What was that?" Klaus asked angrily.

"Hey. Come walk with me. The witches aren't allowed to do magic here. She broke the rules."

"I told you I wanted to talk to her."

"Hey, I'm sorry. I got caught up in the show. Those witches, they think that they still have power in this town. I have to show them that they don't. I never waste an opportunity for a show of force, another lesson that I learned from you and Emma. And besides, anything that you could've gotten outta her, I can find out for you, and I will. I promise."

"Well, whatever it was, doesn't matter anymore, does it?"

"Good, good. Then let's eat, 'cause all that spilled blood makes me hungry." Marcel walked off while Klaus and Emma hung back to confront one of Marcel's men walking by. She stopped him with a hand on the man's chest.

"Hey, Thierry, isn't it? Any more Deveraux witches where she came from?" she asked. In another bar, Sophie Deveraux was chopping up vegetables, clearly upset. She turned around and saw Emma and Klaus in front of her.

"You're Emma and Klaus."

"We are. And you're upset. Sophie, isn't it? I assume this is because of what we just witnessed with your sister on the corner of Royal and St. Ann?" Emma replied.

"Did you enjoy the show?"

"It was a little melodramatic for my tastes. What did your sister want with Klaus and I? Why did Marcel kill her?" Sophie opened her mouth to speak but then noticed a few men arriving at the bar.

"I see you brought friends." Klaus turned and saw the men.

"They're not with us," said Klaus.

"They're with Marcel. That's all that matters. I know you two built this town, but this is his town now. He killed my sister because she broke the rules. So I talk to you in front of them, I'm next." Sophie turned and left. Seething, Emma stormed to the men by the bar and sank her grip into their shoulders as Nik watched, a smirk on his face. It'd been a long time since he'd seen Emma this annoyed. Things were bound to get interesting.

"Are you two gentlemen following us?" Emma asked.

"Marcel said we're your guides."

"Oh, he did, did he? Well then, let me be exceedingly clear about something: if either of you follow me again, you'll do so without the benefit of a spine." She tightened her grip on them until the bartender approached.

"Sorry for the wait. If you're here for the gumbo, I'm about to break your heart. We just ran out," said Cami. Klaus then approached and placed a 100 dollar bill on the bar as Emma released her grip on the two vampires.

"Your oldest Scotch for our two friends here, love," said Klaus. Cami took the bill, smiled, and walked away. Emma then resumed her hold on the men.

"If Marcel wants to know what we're up to, he can ask us himself." She then slammed their heads on the table, leaving them with bloody noses. Sophie watched from the other side of the restaurant and walked out the back alley exit. She stopped at a small table covered with lit candles, her cheeks wet with tears. As she tended to the candles, the door behind her suddenly swung shut with a bang and startled her. Wary, she remained still when a figure jumped. She swiveled around, but saw no one. She turned again to see the man who spoke to Emma inside.

"The doors work, you know."

"You're doing magic?" A second voice spoke.

"I'm praying to my dead sister. Go ahead, pay your respects." She turned back to the other guy, who vamp-sped right in front of her.

"Don't make this a thing, Sophie. The hybrid and the queen were looking for Jane-Anne. Marcel wants to know why."

"Oh, that sounds like witch business. I'd say ask her yourself, but I guess you can't, seeing as Marcel killed her." One of the vampires prepared to attack her from behind, but suddenly he disappeared. She and the second man looked up. They then turned at the sound of something falling to the ground. A heart oozing blood. The remaining vampire prepared to attack Sophie, but their attacker threw him up against a brick building where he was held by a long stake protruding from his chest. Sophie took in the regal man in front of her while another jumped down a building.

"I'm Elijah," said the man as he offered a handkerchief to his companion.

"And I'm Damon." He wiped the blood on his hand off with the cloth.

"Heard of us?"

"Yes," she nodded fervently and nervously. "I've heard of all of the Mikaelsons and Salvatores."

"Just so you know, I could kill you before you even make a move," said Damon. "So, why don't you tell me what business your family has with my wife and Klaus?"

Later that night, Klaus and Emma walked down a street and turned down an alleyway that led to a covered courtyard, where people were drinking, dancing and generally having a good time. Emma noticed some vampires were openly feeding on humans.

"How reckless," Emma sighed. Klaus spotted one of Marcel's men wearing the Original family's daylight ring and approached him aggressively.

"Where is Marcel?" he asked.

"Who the hell is asking?" Emma laughed at the vampire's ineptitude.

"I assume you're joking," Klaus returned.

"I only answer to Marcel."

"Well then, in that case perhaps you'll answer to this." Klaus seized the man by the neck and his eyes vamped-out, his voice rising until he was shouting. "You're aware the bite of a werewolf can kill a vampire? Well, as you can see, I'm half werewolf, so I'm gonna ask you one more time: where is Marcel!" Marcel's voice rose from behind Klaus and he hurried over to break up the confrontation.

"He-hey, I'm right here, I'm right here, e-e-easy now. Diego's just looking out for me. Nobody harms my guys. Those are the rules." Emma then broke up the two men and placed her hand tenderly on Marcel's cheek.

"Marcel, let me make myself crystal clear. I don't care about your rules and I'm over 1,000 years old. I don't need a bloody chaperone. Why are you having us followed?" Marcel led Klaus and Emma away from the others.

"Come here. I get it. A show of force. You've made your point. Let it go? For me."

"Emma, that's enough," said Klaus.

"Nik, you know I don't tolerate insults!"

"Emma! Do I need to call Damon?"

"Fine," Emma pouted.

"Why don't you show me what you've done with the place, while you explain exactly what it is you've been up to in _my_ town?" Klaus asked. Marcel paused only for a moment before smiling his wide grin.

"I'm getting a drink," Emma interrupted before she left the courtyard for the road. Suddenly a hand grabbed her and dragged her into an alley. Emma tried to scream, but a hand covered her mouth.

"Relax, _il mio amore_," Damon whispered into her ear. Emma whipped around and pushed Damon in the chest. He chuckled.

"It's not funny. You scared the living daylights out of me! What are you doing here!"

"I sensed your frustration. I thought you could use a hand or two so I brought a friend. Come with me. There's someone you should meet."

Meanwhile, Marcel had led Klaus to a gallery overlooking the street. "Look at that skyline, huh? That there, that's progress. More hotels, more tourists, more fresh blood. And the humans? I taught them to look the other way."

"And what of the witches? In my time, they were a force to be reckoned with, and now they live in fear. How do you know when they're using magic?"

"Maybe I got a secret weapon, an ace up my sleeve. Something that gives me complete control over all the magic in this town."

"Hm. Is that a fact?"

"Might be. Maybe I'm just bluffing." Marcel put something in his mouth that sizzled slightly.

"You take vervain?"

"Burns like a bitch, but I figure I should limit the number of things I'm vulnerable to. Don't be mad about that chaperone thing. I've told my guys to look out for you, that's all. That's what we do here. Look out for each other." Marcel then spotted a woman walking down the street below. "New blood." Klaus recognized the woman from earlier at the bar.

"Bartender, walking alone at night. She's either brave or dumb."

"Let's see: brave, I let her live; dumb, she's dessert." They smiled. Marcel hopped the gallery's wrought-iron railing down onto the sidewalk below. The woman swiveled around at the sound of him landing behind her. "You know, it's not safe here alone."

"You know, I have a black belt in karate." Marcel chuckled. Above on the gallery, Klaus greeted his brother without turning right away.

"Evening, Elijah."

"Niklaus."

"What an entirely unwelcome surprise."

"And what an entirely unsurprising welcome. I think you need to come with me."

"I'm not going anywhere. Not till I find out who's conspiring against me."

"I believe I just found that out for you." Klaus looked at Elijah. Some time later, they entered Lafayette Cemetery.

"What are we doing here?"

"You wanna know what the witches have in store for you? Follow me." They entered one of the mausoleums.

"Sophie Deveraux. What is this?"

"He's all yours. Proceed," Elijah ordered.

"You know you're famous in this town? Witches tell bedtime stories about the powerful vampire Klaus. We know Marcel was nothing but an orphan street rat, until you made him what he is. And now he's out of control. He's put the entire witch community into subjugation. He does what he wants, he kills who he wants. I'm gonna stop him, and you're gonna help me." Klaus smiled, amused.

"This is why you brought me here? You want to recruit a wolf to hunt down a dog? This is your big plot? Only problem is I don't take orders from anyone, least of all you."

"Hear her out," Elijah sighed.

"I don't need to hear her out. I assure you, love, there is not a thing on this earth that will matter enough for me to waste even thirty more seconds of my time. Elijah, what madness is this?" Hayley then entered the mausoleum with a few other witches, Damon, and Emma behind her.

"Klaus. You need to listen to them," said Hayley.

"You're all out of your minds if you think some liquor-fueled, one-night stand - no offense, sweetheart - means a thing to me."

"Marcel may be able to keep us from practicing real magic in this town, but as keepers of the balance we still know when nature has cooked up something new. For example, I have a special gift... of sensing when a girl is pregnant." The color drained from Klaus' face.

"What?"

"I know it's impossible..." said Hayley.

"What are you saying?"

"Nik...the girl is carrying your child," said Emma.

"No. It's impossible. This is a lie. You're all lying. Vampires cannot procreate."

"Oh, come on, Klaus. Are we really going to ignore the big asterisk next to that statement?" Damon asked.

"Damon has a point. I got pregnant," Emma added.

"And werewolves can," Sophie said. "Magic made you a vampire, but you were born a werewolf. You're the Original hybrid, the first of your kind, and this pregnancy is one of nature's loopholes." Klaus fought for control over his facial expression before he turned to Hayley and shouted at her.

"You've been with someone else, admit it!"

"Hey, I've spent days held captive in a freaking alligator bayou because they think that I'm carrying some magical miracle baby. Don't you think I would've fessed up if it wasn't yours?"

"My sister gave her life to perform the spell she needed to confirm this pregnancy. Because of Jane-Anne's sacrifice, the lives of this girl and her baby are now controlled by us. We can keep them safe or we can kill them." By their surprised expressions, this was news to Elijah, Damon, Emma, and Hayley. "If you don't help us take down Marcel, so help me, Hayley won't live long enough to see her first maternity dress."

"Wait, what?" Hayley.

"Enough of this. If you want Marcel dead, he's dead. I'll do it myself," Emma seethed.

"No. We can't, not yet. We have a clear plan that we need to follow, and there are rules," said Sophie. Klaus, who had turned away, turned slowly to face Sophie, his anger barely restrained and his voice frighteningly quiet.

"How dare you command me...threaten me, with what you wrongfully perceive to be my weaknesses! This is a pathetic deception. I won't hear any more lies." He moved to leave, but Emma sped in front.

"Nik! Listen." Klaus turned toward Hayley, from whose abdomen he could hear a rapid heartbeat. Klaus listened in wonderment for a few long moments, met Hayley's eyes, then closed himself off once more. He turned back to Emma.

"Kill her and the baby. What do I care?" Klaus stormed out of the mausoleum.

"No one touches the girl. I'll fix this," said Elijah. Shortly thereafter, Klaus was walking down a deserted but well-lit street when Elijah caught up with him. "Niklaus."

"It's a trick, Elijah."

"No, brother. It's gift. It's your chance…it's our chance."

"To what?"

"To start over. Take back everything we lost, everything that was taken from us. Niklaus, our own parents came to despise us. Our family was ruined…we were ruined. And since then, all that you have ever wanted…all that we have ever wanted was a family."

"I will not be manipulated." Klaus turned away but Elijah vamp-sped over to block his way.

"So they're manipulating you. So what? With them, this girl and her child…your child…live."

"I'm gonna kill every last one of them." He shoved Elijah and turned away but once again Elijah blocked him.

"And then what? Then you resume your life as the hated one, as the evil hybrid? Is it so important to you that people quake with fear at the sound of your name?"

"People quake with fear because I have the power to make them afraid. What will this child offer me? Will it guarantee me power?"

"Family is power, Niklaus. Look at Emma and Damon. They are feared among the vampire community. Not only because of Emma's age, but because they are the exception. Adria is the culmination of their love and their power. Love, loyalty…that's power. This is what we swore to one another a thousand years ago before life tore away what little humanity you had left, before ego, before anger, before paranoia created in this person before me someone I can barely even recognize as my own brother. This is us, the Original family, and we remain together, always and forever. I am asking you to stay here. I will help you and I will stand by you. I will be your brother. We will build a home here together. So save this girl. Save your child." Elijah placed a hand on Klaus' shoulder. Klaus brought his own hand to Elijah's neck in a brotherly gesture.

"No." Klaus turned and walked off, leaving Elijah to stand alone. Klaus returned to Marcel's courtyard party where everyone was still dancing and drinking.

"Hey, man. Where'd you run off to?" Marcel asked.

"You mean your minions aren't still documenting my every move?"

"Someone put you in a mood. What can I do?"

"What you can do is you can tell me what this thing is you have with the witches."

"Oh, we're back to that?"

"Yeah, we're back to that."

"You know I owe you everything I got, but I'm afraid I have to draw the line on this one. This is my business. I control the witches in my town. Let's just leave it at that."

"Your town?"

"Damn straight."

"That's funny, because when I left, you were just a pathetic little scrapper still trembling from the lashes of the whips of those who would keep you down, and now look at you. Master of your domain. Prince of the city." The music stopped and the crowd watched them. "I'd like to know how."

"Why? Jealous? Hey, man, I get it. Three hundred years ago, you helped build a backwater penal colony into something. You started it, but then you left. Actually, you ran from it. I saw it through. Look around. Vampires rule this city now. We don't have to live in the shadows like rats. The locals know their place. They look the other way. I got rid of the werewolves. I even found a way to shut down the witches. The blood never stops flowing and the party never ends. You wanna pass on through? You wanna stay a while? Great. What's mine is yours, but it is mine. My home, my family, my rules."

"And if someone breaks those rules?"

"They die. Mercy is for the weak. You taught me that, too. And I'm not the prince of the Quarter, friend. I'm the king! Show me some respect." Emma's airy laughed coupled with Damon's chuckle resounded from the balcony. They then jumped down. Marcel was a bit surprised to see the two.

"The King? What a load of crap. And the ones you should show respect to are your elders," Emma growled.

"So this is Marcel, huh? Not too smart, is he?" Damon asked.

"Damon, I believe these lowly vampires are to be shown their place. Pick one." Damon threw Thierry to Emma and Nik and they both bit into his neck viciously. Marcel tried to intervene, but Damon grabbed him.

"Come on, man. Don't ruin a lady's feed. That's just plain rude." Emma and Nik then dropped Thierry, blood dripping from their lips.

"Your friend will be dead by the weekend, which means I've broken one of your rules. And yet I cannot be killed. I am immortal. Who has the power now, _friend_?" Nik asked. He faced off with Marcel, who said nothing. After a moment Klaus smiled around at the crowd. "Come on, Damon, Emma. Let's go find some humans to eat." They turned and left. Out in the street Klaus navigated through crowds of people while Emma and Damon lingered to enjoy a band of musicians.

"How is Adria?" she asked.

"Fine. A little pissed that she's missing all the fun."

"New Orleans isn't a good place for her. Somehow Marcel can sense when the witches use magic."

"You're afraid he'd learn her ability." Emma nodded.

"Thank you for coming, but…"

"I know. After tonight I'm heading back. But I'm not going to stop coming to visit you as soon as I can."

"I thought you'd say something like that," she smiled, leaning her head against his shoulder as Damon wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"So what do you think about Nik? Think he'll do it?"

"I do. He'll come around. I don't think he's the type of man who could deny their child. He's a lot like you in that way," said Emma as she watched Nik observing a man painting. The bartender from earlier approached him.

"The hundred dollar guy," she said.

"The brave bartender." He looked at her name tag. "Camille. That's a French name."

"It's a grandma's name. Call me Cami. Amazing, isn't he?"

"Do you paint?"

"No, but I admire. Every artist has a story, you know."

"And what do you suppose his story is?"

"He's...angry. Dark. Doesn't feel safe and doesn't know what to do about it. He wishes he could control his demons instead of having his demons control him. He's lost. Alone." Klaus' eyes glistened. He tore his eyes away from the painter, smiling ruefully to himself.

"Or maybe he just drank too much tonight. Sorry. Overzealous Psych major."

"No. I think you were probably right the first time." Cami smiled at him, then glanced back at the painting.

"So, do you…" She looked round but Klaus was gone. "…paint?" Klaus walked down a deserted street and sat down on a bench. After a minute, Emma arrived and sat beside him.

"Come to give me a pep talk about the joys of fatherhood?" he asked.

"I think all that needs to be said has been said," Emma replied gracefully.

"I forgot how much I liked this town."

"I didn't forget. I hated leaving here."

"As did I."

"Are you aware that the witches can't leave here? They practice ancestral magic. They draw their power directly from their dead in the cemeteries. If they go, they leave the source of power behind."

"That explains their hunger for revolution. Marcel has found a way of controlling them. I want to know what it is."

"What's on your mind?"

"For a thousand years, I lived in fear. Any time I settled anywhere, Mikael would hunt me down and...chase me off. He made me feel powerless, and I hated it. This town was my home once, and in my absence, Marcel has gotten everything that I ever wanted. Power, loyalty, family. We made him and he has bettered us."

"Well, that's debatable."

"I want what he has, Emma."

"Then we take it and we make the vampires in this town quake in fear at the mere name of the Mikaelsons and the Salvatores." Nik smiled. "What of Hayley and the baby?"

"Every king needs an heir. Tell Sophie Deveraux we have a deal," Klaus smiled.

The following morning, Emma walked through the cemetery with Sophie.

"So, how do you propose this will work?" Emma asked.

"Klaus needs to cement his place in Marcel's world. His inner circle, the daywalkers. That's where we begin. They're his friends, his family. We'll be hitting him where it hurts." Klaus provided the cure for Thierry at Marcel's place and patched things up with his progeny. "No one can know of our arrangement. Marcel will retaliate and I don't want any more dead witches. I want you to make him suffer. Undermine his rule, distract him, but above all keep him alive."

"And why's that?"

"You need to earn my trust before I let you in on witch business. Just know he needs to remain unharmed."

"You have no idea what you're asking. Nik's temper is legendary."

"Then I guess you got your work cut out for you."

"I suppose so. Sophie, I am a mother myself. So let me assure you of one thing. If you kill the girl or her unborn child, you will not have to fear Marcel, Nik, Elijah, Damon or anyone more than you will need to fear me."

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**Please review!**


	2. A Sudden Throw

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or any other show I draw plot lines and inspiration from in any shape or form. The only character I own are my OCs, Emma and Adria. **

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A few hours had passed since Emma left for New Orleans and a pit in Damon's stomach continued to nag at him. Damon and Emma may now be on good terms with the Original Family, but that didn't mean he trusted Niklaus with his wife's life if she ran into trouble. He knew he needed to stay in Seattle until Adria graduated in a month but he needed someone to help Emma. Someone who was dependable, had a cool head, but wouldn't hesitate to kill. He needed…Elijah. That sure left a bad taste in his mouth, but Damon called his wife's ex-husband anyway.

"Hey, it's me. How would you be interested in a road trip?" After telling Adria he'd be gone for the day, he used Emma's crystal to arrive in New Orleans. A few minutes later, Elijah arrived, having already heard from his sister what his brother and ex-wife were up to.

"It seems Emma and Niklaus have been busy." Damon slammed Elijah into the wall.

"Let's get one thing straight. I only called you here because I need your help. Something's not right. When Emma told me she was coming here, she had a strange look in her eye. It was…"

"Haunted?"

"Yeah."

"New Orleans holds many fond and not so fond memories for the Original Family. And how did you slam me so hard? That's Original strength." Damon looked around to make sure no one was listening in.

"Adria."

"She…"

"Let's just say Emma wanted to make our family stronger. She and Adria conducted a spell that turned Emma, Adria, and myself into Originals. Now back to the main point. Explain. I want to know what went on. I haven't seen Emma look like that since she went on her last Ripper binge."

"Over the course of my long life, I have come to believe we are bound forever to those with whom we share blood. And while we may not choose our family, that bond can be our greatest strength or our deepest regret. This unfortunate truth has haunted me for as long as I can recall. Three hundred years ago, The Original Family came to New Orleans from Europe. At the time, Emma and I were still married. Although we had been estranged for several centuries, we decided to give it another try. Although it wasn't meant to be. We divorced several years later."

_Mississippi River, 300 Years Ago_

An abandoned ship floated in the middle of the sea. A group of men, seeing the ship from the shore, went to investigate and when they stepped below deck, they were surprised to see there was no one.

"Where in hell is everyone?"

"Deserted. Which makes everything in the hold legally forfeit. Take what suits you."

"What do you make of that?" The man referred to two coffins. His friend opened up a coffin, revealing a daggered Kol.

"What the hell!" Suddenly a door swung open and the men were attacked, disappearing one by one until only one was left. He turned around and saw Emma behind him.

"Hello." Veins around her eyes began to disappear as she wiped the blood off her lips with her handkerchief. "Lovely to see such a handsome face after a long journey. Can I eat him, love?"

"I'd rather you didn't," Elijah replied, appearing out of a dark corner and smiling slightly. "There's no need to be afraid." He compelled the man. "And do exactly as I say. You will remember nothing."

"I will remember nothing," said the human as Emma walked toward Elijah. He took her into his arms and Emma rested her head on Elijah's shoulder.

"We've had a very long journey," said Elijah as he stroked Emma's cheek with his finger. "Wherein which, unfortunately, we lost all of our crew. Therefore, I will ask you kindly to transport our belongings to the shore."

"What kind of hell demons are you?"

"We're vampires, darling," said Rebekah, also emerging from the shadows. "The Original vampires: Rebekah, Elijah, Emmalyne, Kol, and Finn. May they rest in peace."

"Are we saving the best for last?" Klaus asked, his face covered with blood.

"And Niklaus. Ignore him. He's a beast." Klaus laughed and pushed a dead body to the ground.

"We fled Europe and survived the seas. Would you rather I arrive hungry on the shores of our new homeland?" Klaus asked.

"Niklaus, your manners are, as always, without equal. Sir, would you be so good as to tell us where it is that we have landed?" Emma asked.

"The French colony of Louisiana, off the shores of a town they have named New Orleans."

"Thank you so much. Oh, I do recommend that you find yourself further assistance for the luggage. My sincere apologies. Come along, my sweet," said Elijah before leaving with his wife and siblings.

_Present Day_

"We should act quickly and find out what's going on without causing much of a stir," said Elijah to Damon. "No doubt Emma and Klaus will make quite the ruckus."

"I think I know where we can start," said Damon, spotting a bar across the street.

"I'll be back." Elijah walked into the bar and befriended the bartender, Camille, with ease.

"So what brings you to the Big Easy?" Camille asked Elijah.

"I used to live here."

"Really? When?"

"Oh, it feels like a hundred years ago."

"I just moved here myself. What brought you back?"

"Well, my brother's here somewhere. I'm afraid he might have got himself in a bit of a bind."

"You say that like it's a common occurrence."

"Well... he's complicated. Defiant. Ill mannered. Little temperamental. See, we don't share the same father. Of course that never bothered me, but my brother resents it deeply, never felt like he belongs. All told, he has a long history of getting himself into trouble."

"And I'm guessing you have a long history of getting him out of it." Elijah nodded, smiling. "What kind of bind is your brother in?"

"He believes there're people in this town that are conspiring against him."

"Wow. Narcissistic and paranoid. Sorry. Bartender with a grad degree in psychology. Total cliche."

"Listen, Camille, I'm looking for someone who might shed some light on his current predicament. She works here, Jane-Anne Deveraux. Any idea where I might find her?"

"No. But I know someone who might."

A few minutes later, Elijah and Damon followed a witch tour guide. When the tourists she was guiding entered a voodoo shop, Jardin Grin, the witch confronted the two vampires following her.

"Are you going to continue following me, Elijah, Damon, or do you wanna talk?"

"You know who we are," said Elijah.

"Original vampire, always wears a suit. And you, Mr. Salvatore, are a legend in this town. Man who killed twelve witches just to get rid of a sire bond. Your brother's a Ripper. The Salvatores and Mikaelsons are famous amongst the witches, especially with Niklaus and Emma back in town."

"Nik and my wife are here because they learned that a witch is conspiring against them. Someone by the name of Jane-Anne Deveraux," said Damon.

"Well, if they're looking for Jane Anne, they're a little late."

"Are you telling me she's dead?"

"Come on, her sister Sophie's gonna want to talk to you." The witch guided Damon and Elijah to a crowd of witches, mourning over their fallen friend, Jane-Anne. Elijah and Damon were shocked.

"That's Jane Anne? Killed in public for anyone to find..."

"Only people that come around here are the witches. Now her sister has come to take her body. Her spirit can't rest until it's been properly interred in the cemetery."

"Please tell me that my brother had nothing to do with this," Elijah growled.

"No. Jane Anne died because she got caught doing magic."

"What do you mean she got caught using magic?" A jarring whistle could be heard.

"You wanna know who killed Jane Anne? You're about to get your first glimpse of Marcel in action."

"The vampire Marcel?"

"Things have changed since your family left town, Marcel has changed. Stay hidden. If Marcel finds out that a witch lured the Originals back into town, my people will be slaughtered." Elijah and Damon jumped up onto a balcony, hiding in the shadows.

"Well, well, well, what have we here. I gotta tell you, Soph, this street corner's not proving the luckiest spot for your family tonight. Not half an hour ago we had to teach your sister a little lesson," said Marcel.

"We're putting her to rest, Marcel. Leave us alone."

"I never said you could move the body. Matter of fact I left her here for a reason. Send a message if anybody is thinking of joining some kind of rebellion. My rules state that witches can't practice magic in the Quarter and yet a little birdy informed me that Jane Anne was cooking up something magically delicious. Oh, yeah. While I have you, quick Q & A, my old friends, the hybrid Klaus, and the Blood Queen Emmalyne just happened to show up out of the blue asking for of all people Jane Anne. Any idea why?"

"I don't know. Witches don't get involved in vampire business."

"Hmm. That would be pretty stupid, that's for sure. Tell you what, go back to the restaurant, cook up some of that famous gumbo, keep those tourists happy." Marcel turned to his vampire lackees. "Take the body."

"What? No! Stop! Stop! Marcel!"

"I'm gonna hold on to your sister's body in case maybe you remember why Klaus or Emma are here."

"Marcel please. Her body won't be at peace."

"Not my problem." Damon and Elijah jumped down into an alley when Marcel left.

"I presume you know that guy?" Damon asked.

"Yeah. Although, I thought he was dead. This isn't good. It seems Emma and Klaus have wandered into a war zone. Marcel was sired and raised by Klaus and Emma and now he rules a menagerie of savage vampires running wild, killing in public for any human to come upon. Not to mention, he has witches held in subjugation. I doubt Emma and Klaus have any idea what they're walking into."

"Well, whatever's going on between Marcel and the witches, it's dire enough that they risked bringing Originals back to town. They lured them here. I'd like to know why, wouldn't you?" The two vampires watched from a rooftop as Sophie Deveraux lit candles in the back alley of a restaurant, her cheeks wet with tears.

As she tended to the candles, the door behind her suddenly swung shut with a bang and startled her. Wary, she remained still when a figure jumped. She swiveled around, but saw no one. She turned again to see a man.

"The doors work, you know."

"You're doing magic?" A second voice spoke.

"I'm praying to my dead sister. Go ahead, pay your respects." She turned back to the other guy, who vamp-sped right in front of her.

"Don't make this a thing, Sophie. The hybrid and the queen were looking for Jane-Anne. Marcel wants to know why."

"I'd say ask her yourself, but I guess you can't, seeing as Marcel killed her." One of the vampires prepared to attack her from behind, but suddenly he disappeared. She and the second man looked up. They then turned at the sound of something falling to the ground. A heart oozing blood. The remaining vampire prepared to attack Sophie, but their attacker threw him up against a brick building where he was held by a long stake protruding from his chest. Sophie took in the regal man in front of her while another jumped down a building.

"I'm Elijah," said the man as he offered a handkerchief to his companion.

"And I'm Damon." He wiped the blood on his hand off with the cloth.

"Heard of us?"

"Yes," she nodded fervently and nervously. "I've heard of all of the Mikaelsons and Salvatores."

"Just so you know, I could kill you before you even make a move," said Damon. "So, why don't you tell me what business your family has with my wife and Klaus?" Sophie took Elijah and Damon to the cemetery and the two vampires stopped in their tracks, unable to pass through the entryway.

"This is sacred ground. Which means vampires have to be invited in. But since I'm desperate come on in." Cautiously, Damon and Elijah entered the cemetery. "We can talk freely here."

"Then I suggest you start talking," said Damon.

"What did your sister want with Emmalyne and Niklaus?" Elijah asked.

"Isn't it obvious? We have a vampire problem. And we need help. Marcel has an army backing him. The witches have been trying to fight back, but we haven't had much luck. Until my sister Jane Anne met a girl, a werewolf passing through the Quarter from a small town in Virginia. She had a special connection to your brother."

"What kind of connection?"

"Apparently, they spent some time together. One thing led to another and now this special werewolf girl is pregnant. And the father of the child she is carrying is your brother Klaus."

"That's impossible," said Elijah, taken aback as Damon considered the possibility.

"Nothing is impossible, especially not when it comes to your brother. Damon knows what I'm talking about."

"Is it a blood moon child?" Damon asked.

"No. Come on. Think about it. They call him the hybrid, right?" She turned her head and raised her voice. "Bring her out!" Three witches came out of a mausoleum and in between them was Hayley Marshall. Elijah and Damon watched interested while Hayley appeared a bit confused and really irritated.

"Who the hell are you?" she asked.

"Give us a moment please." Damon and Elijah spoke with Hayley alone in the mausoleum.

"So have they been holding you here against your will?" Elijah asked.

"They lured me out into the bayou and grabbed me. And they did all these...weird witchy tests. Not that I understand how this could happen. I mean...vampires are dead. They can't have children!"

"Yeah, there's kind of a caveat to that rule," Damon groaned. "Once a year, a vampire couple can produce a child on the night of the blood moon. But…"

"Your child isn't a blood moon child as you aren't a vampire," said Elijah. "Perhaps if you knew my brother's story it might explain how this is possible. Here, if I may." Elijah tried to press his hand to Hayley's temple, but she recoiled.

"What are you doing?"

"Relax. If you open your mind to me, I can show you." He laid his hand to Hayley's temple and they closed their eyes. "In the beginning our family was human. A thousand years ago now. Although our mother dabbled in the dark arts, we were just a family trying to survive in a time where it was quite difficult to do so. And for better or worse, we were happy. That is however until one night our youngest brother was killed by our village's greatest threat. Men which could transform themselves into wolves during the full moon. Our family was devastated. None more than Niklaus. Desperate to protect the rest of us, our father forced our mother and my love at the time, Emmalyne Petrova, to call upon the black magic in order to make us stronger. And the first vampires were born. But with this speed, this strength, this immortality came terrible hunger. No one felt this hunger more than Niklaus. When he killed for the first time, we knew what he truly was. He wasn't just a vampire."

"He was also a werewolf. That's how the werewolf curse works. It isn't activated until you take a life," said Hayley.

"Niklaus was a result of an indiscretion our mother had hidden from us all. An affair, with a werewolf, like yourself. Infuriated by this betrayal my father forced our mother and Emmalyne to cast a spell that would suppress Klaus's werewolf side, denying any connection with his true self."

"Your dad was a dick." Elijah and Damon chuckled.

"No kidding. I met the guy. He rammed his hand through my chest. I still have the bruises to prove it," said Damon.

"I'm Hayley, by the way. You should probably know my name if you're gonna tell me your whole life story. I know yours and the Salvatores. Your families are legendary. Klaus is a notorious psycho...who I slept with. Classic me."

"I cannot excuse his behavior," said Elijah. "But you must understand, that our father hunted him, hunted us, for centuries every time we found a moment of happiness, we were forced to flee. Even here, in New Orleans, where we were the happiest of all. Not long after Niklaus broke the spell which prevented him from becoming the hybrid...he defeated our father. I thought this would make him happy. He was angrier than ever. I wonder if perhaps this baby might be a way for my brother to find happiness. A way to save him from himself."

"I'm glad you feel that way," said Sophie, entering the mausoleum. "Because we need your help."

"What precisely is it that you want and what does it have to do with this young woman?" Elijah asked.

"We want to run Marcel and his vampires out of town. Klaus and Emma are the key. Everything Marcel knows about being a vampire he learnt from Klaus and Emma. Marcel trusts them, looks up to them, and he won't see the betrayal coming."

"I can't speak for Emmalyne, but as I'm sure you're aware my brother doesn't like to be told what to do."

"That's why I brought you here. Marcel drove the werewolves out of town decades ago. Do you really think, he is going to welcome a hybrid baby to the neighborhood? Convince Klaus and Emma to help us and no one has to know about the newest member of the Original Family."

"Well, that sounds remarkably like blackmail," Damon snapped.

"Like I said, I'm desperate."

"Well then, we have our work cut out for us, don't we?"

"I'll take Emma, you take Klaus," said Damon. A few minutes later, Damon saw Emma and pulled her into an alley, his hand covering her mouth.

"Relax, _il mio amore_," Damon whispered into her ear. Emma whipped around and pushed Damon in the chest. He chuckled.

"It's not funny. You scared the living daylights out of me! What are you doing here!"

"I sensed your frustration. I thought you could use a hand or two so I brought a friend. Come with me. There's someone you should meet."

Meanwhile, Marcel had led Klaus to a gallery overlooking the street. "Look at that skyline, huh? That there, that's progress. More hotels, more tourists, more fresh blood. And the humans? I taught them to look the other way."

"And what of the witches? In my time, they were a force to be reckoned with, and now they live in fear. How do you know when they're using magic?"

"Maybe I got a secret weapon, an ace up my sleeve. Something that gives me complete control over all the magic in this town."

"Hm. Is that a fact?"

"Might be. Maybe I'm just bluffing." Marcel put something in his mouth that sizzled slightly.

"You take vervain?"

"Burns like a bitch, but I figure I should limit the number of things I'm vulnerable to. Don't be mad about that chaperone thing. I've told my guys to look out for you, that's all. That's what we do here. Look out for each other." Marcel then spotted a woman walking down the street below. "New blood." Klaus recognized the woman from earlier at the bar.

"Bartender, walking alone at night. She's either brave or dumb."

"Let's see: brave, I let her live; dumb, she's dessert." They smiled. Marcel hopped the gallery's wrought-iron railing down onto the sidewalk below. The woman swiveled around at the sound of him landing behind her. "You know, it's not safe here alone."

"You know, I have a black belt in karate." Marcel chuckled. Above on the gallery, Klaus greeted his brother without turning right away.

"Evening, Elijah."

"Niklaus."

"What an entirely unwelcome surprise."

"And what an entirely unsurprising welcome. I think you need to come with me."

"I'm not going anywhere. Not till I find out who's conspiring against me."

"I believe I just found that out for you." Klaus looked at Elijah. Some time later, they entered Lafayette Cemetery.

"What are we doing here?"

"You wanna know what the witches have in store for you? Follow me." They entered one of the mausoleums.

"Sophie Deveraux. What is this?"

"He's all yours. Proceed," Elijah ordered.

"You know you're famous in this town? Witches tell bedtime stories about the powerful vampire Klaus. We know Marcel was nothing but an orphan street rat, until you made him what he is. And now he's out of control. He's put the entire witch community into subjugation. He does what he wants, he kills who he wants. I'm gonna stop him, and you're gonna help me." Klaus smiled, amused.

"This is why you brought me here? You want to recruit a wolf to hunt down a dog? This is your big plot? Only problem is I don't take orders from anyone, least of all you."

"Hear her out," Elijah sighed.

"I don't need to hear her out. I assure you, love, there is not a thing on this earth that will matter enough for me to waste even thirty more seconds of my time. Elijah, what madness is this?" Hayley then entered the mausoleum with a few other witches, Damon, and Emma behind her.

"Klaus. You need to listen to them," said Hayley.

"You're all out of your minds if you think some liquor-fueled, one-night stand - no offense, sweetheart - means a thing to me."

"Marcel may be able to keep us from practicing real magic in this town, but as keepers of the balance we still know when nature has cooked up something new. For example, I have a special gift... of sensing when a girl is pregnant." The color drained from Klaus' face.

"What?"

"I know it's impossible..." said Hayley.

"What are you saying?"

"Nik...the girl is carrying your child," said Emma.

"No. It's impossible. This is a lie. You're all lying. Vampires cannot procreate."

"Oh, come on, Klaus. Are we really going to ignore the big asterisk next to that statement?" Damon asked.

"Damon has a point. I got pregnant," Emma added.

"And werewolves can," Sophie said. "Magic made you a vampire, but you were born a werewolf. You're the Original hybrid, the first of your kind, and this pregnancy is one of nature's loopholes." Klaus fought for control over his facial expression before he turned to Hayley and shouted at her.

"You've been with someone else, admit it!"

"Hey, I've spent days held captive in a freaking alligator bayou because they think that I'm carrying some magical miracle baby. Don't you think I would've fessed up if it wasn't yours?"

"My sister gave her life to perform the spell she needed to confirm this pregnancy. Because of Jane-Anne's sacrifice, the lives of this girl and her baby are now controlled by us. We can keep them safe or we can kill them." By their surprised expressions, this was news to Elijah, Damon, Emma, and Hayley. "If you don't help us take down Marcel, so help me, Hayley won't live long enough to see her first maternity dress."

"Wait, what?" Hayley.

"Enough of this. If you want Marcel dead, he's dead. I'll do it myself," Emma seethed.

"No. We can't, not yet. We have a clear plan that we need to follow, and there are rules," said Sophie. Klaus, who had turned away, turned slowly to face Sophie, his anger barely restrained and his voice frighteningly quiet.

"How dare you command me...threaten me, with what you wrongfully perceive to be my weaknesses! This is a pathetic deception. I won't hear any more lies." He moved to leave, but Emma sped in front.

"Nik! Listen." Klaus turned toward Hayley, from whose abdomen he could hear a rapid heartbeat. Klaus listened in wonderment for a few long moments, met Hayley's eyes, then closed himself off once more. He turned back to Emma.

"Kill her and the baby. What do I care?" Klaus stormed out of the mausoleum.

"No one touches the girl. I'll fix this," said Elijah. Shortly thereafter, Klaus was walking down a deserted but well-lit street when Elijah caught up with him. "Niklaus."

"It's a trick, Elijah."

"No, brother. It's gift. It's your chance…it's our chance."

"To what?"

"To start over. Take back everything we lost, everything that was taken from us. Niklaus, our own parents came to despise us. Our family was ruined…we were ruined. And since then, all that you have ever wanted…all that we have ever wanted was a family."

"I will not be manipulated." Klaus turned away but Elijah vamp-sped over to block his way.

"So they're manipulating you. So what? With them, this girl and her child…your child…live."

"I'm gonna kill every last one of them." He shoved Elijah and turned away but once again Elijah blocked him.

"And then what? Then you resume your life as the hated one, as the evil hybrid? Is it so important to you that people quake with fear at the sound of your name?"

"People quake with fear because I have the power to make them afraid. What will this child offer me? Will it guarantee me power?"

"Family is power, Niklaus. Look at Emma and Damon. They are feared among the vampire community. Not only because of Emma's age, but because they are the exception. Adria is the culmination of their love and their power. Love, loyalty…that's power. This is what we swore to one another a thousand years ago before life tore away what little humanity you had left, before ego, before anger, before paranoia created in this person before me someone I can barely even recognize as my own brother. This is us, the Original family, and we remain together, always and forever. I am asking you to stay here. I will help you and I will stand by you. I will be your brother. We will build a home here together. So save this girl. Save your child." Elijah placed a hand on Klaus' shoulder. Klaus brought his own hand to Elijah's neck in a brotherly gesture.

"No." Klaus turned and walked off, leaving Elijah to stand alone.

Back at the Mausoleum, the witches were beginning to argue.

"Marcel and his vampires are out of control. Something had to be done," said Sophie.

"And the solution is to bring in more vampires?" Agnes asked.

"These aren't just any vampires, Agnes. They're the Originals."

"What makes you think you can control the hybrid?"

"She can't," said Emma as she entered the room with Damon and Elijah. "I'm not entirely certain if I can either. But now that your coven has drawn his ire, I have a question. What prevents Nik from murdering you instead of cooperating?" Sophie took a needle and stabbed herself with it.

"Ow!" Hayley cried. "What the hell?"

"The spell my sister performed, the one that got her killed. It didn't just confirm the pregnancy. It linked me...to Hayley. So anything that happens to me happens to her. Which means her life is in my hands. Klaus may not care about his own child. But it's very clear what this means to the three of you. If I have to hurt Hayley or worse to ensure that I have your attention, I will." Emma looked down and chuckled.

"Here we go again," Damon groaned.

"You would dare threaten me?" Emma asked. "Not only an Original, but also a vampire-witch. You have no idea what you're messing with, little girl."

"I have nothing to lose. You have until midnight to get Klaus to change his mind."

Meanwhile, Klaus had returned to Marcel's courtyard party where everyone was still dancing and drinking.

"Hey, man. Where'd you run off to?" Marcel asked.

"You mean your minions aren't still documenting my every move?"

"Someone put you in a mood. What can I do?"

"What you can do is you can tell me what this thing is you have with the witches."

"Oh, we're back to that?"

"Yeah, we're back to that."

"You know I owe you everything I got, but I'm afraid I have to draw the line on this one. This is my business. I control the witches in my town. Let's just leave it at that."

"Your town?"

"Damn straight."

"That's funny, because when I left, you were just a pathetic little scrapper still trembling from the lashes of the whips of those who would keep you down, and now look at you. Master of your domain. Prince of the city." The music stopped and the crowd watched them. "I'd like to know how."

"Why? Jealous? Hey, man, I get it. Three hundred years ago, you helped build a backwater penal colony into something. You started it, but then you left. Actually, you ran from it. I saw it through. Look around. Vampires rule this city now. We don't have to live in the shadows like rats. The locals know their place. They look the other way. I got rid of the werewolves. I even found a way to shut down the witches. The blood never stops flowing and the party never ends. You wanna pass on through? You wanna stay a while? Great. What's mine is yours, but it is mine. My home, my family, my rules."

"And if someone breaks those rules?"

"They die. Mercy is for the weak. You taught me that, too. And I'm not the prince of the Quarter, friend. I'm the king! Show me some respect." Emma's airy laughed coupled with Damon's chuckle resounded from the balcony. They then jumped down. Marcel was a bit surprised to see the two.

"The King? What a load of crap. And the ones you should show respect to are your elders," Emma growled.

"So this is Marcel, huh? Not too smart, is he?" Damon asked.

"Damon, I believe these lowly vampires are to be shown their place. Pick one." Damon threw Thierry to Emma and Nik and they both bit into his neck viciously. Marcel tried to intervene, but Damon grabbed him.

"Come on, man. Don't ruin a lady's feed. That's just plain rude." Emma and Nik then dropped Thierry, blood dripping from their lips.

"Your friend will be dead by the weekend, which means I've broken one of your rules. And yet I cannot be killed. I am immortal. Who has the power now, _friend_?" Nik asked. He faced off with Marcel, who said nothing. After a moment Klaus smiled around at the crowd. "Come on, Damon, Emma. Let's go find some humans to eat." They turned and left. Out in the street Klaus navigated through crowds of people while Emma and Damon lingered to enjoy a band of musicians.

"How is Adria?" she asked.

"Fine. A little pissed that she's missing all the fun."

"New Orleans isn't a good place for her right now. Somehow Marcel can sense when the witches use magic."

"You're afraid he'd learn her ability." Emma nodded.

"Thank you for coming, but…"

"I know. After tonight I'm heading back. But I'm not going to stop coming to visit you as soon as I can."

"I thought you'd say something like that," she smiled, leaning her head against his shoulder as Damon wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"So what do you think about Nik? Think he'll do it?"

"I do. He'll come around. I don't think he's the type of man who could deny their child. He's a lot like you in that way," said Emma as she watched Nik observing a man painting. The bartender from earlier approached him.

"The hundred dollar guy," she said.

"The brave bartender." He looked at her name tag. "Camille. That's a French name."

"It's a grandma's name. Call me Cami. Amazing, isn't he?"

"Do you paint?"

"No, but I admire. Every artist has a story, you know."

"And what do you suppose his story is?"

"He's...angry. Dark. Doesn't feel safe and doesn't know what to do about it. He wishes he could control his demons instead of having his demons control him. He's lost. Alone." Klaus' eyes glistened. He tore his eyes away from the painter, smiling ruefully to himself.

"Or maybe he just drank too much tonight. Sorry. Overzealous Psych major."

"No. I think you were probably right the first time." Cami smiled at him, then glanced back at the painting.

"So, do you…" She looked round but Klaus was gone. "…paint?"

Meanwhile, Marcel was eating at a restaurant.

"You find him and then you call me. Don't worry. I know how to deal with Klaus."

"Is that so?" Elijah asked.

"Elijah Mikaelson." The vampires who were sitting around the bar rose. "Stop. I got it. It's all good."

"It's time we have a little chat."

"If you wanna talk, talk. I got things to do."

"You have become quite confident over the last century, haven't you?"

"Me? I'd say it's you, Emma, and your brother who got cocky, coming to my town like you own the place."

"Well, we did own the place once. We were quite happy here as I recall. But we could never control those pesky witches of the French Quarter. How are you doing it?"

"Your brother asked me the same question. I gave him the same answer: it's my business. Everything in the Quarter is my business. Klaus and Emma come in the town all nice and friendly, then they start looking down at what I've down like it's some cheap knock-off, then they get pissed off and bite one of my guys."

"Well, I do apologize for Klaus's poor behavior. And Emma, well, she's already had a temper. Damon's been the only I've ever seen to calm her down effectively."

"What's the deal with her and him? He's younger than her. Younger than me."

"Don't be mistaken to think that just because you're a few years older than Damon that you're stronger than him. He's quite resourceful and _fiercely_ protective of what's his. Besides, I thought you and Emma called it quits after you stabbed her in the back?"

"I did what I had to do to survive."

"Yes, well… I assume you know that that bite will kill your friend within a couple of days. Klaus's blood would cure him."

"What?"

"Yes. Apparently, the blood of a hybrid will cure a werewolf bite. Quite a handy little thing when one needs leverage in negotiation."

"What kind of negotiations we taking about?"

"Return the body of the witch Jane Anne. Allow her people to put her to rest."

"What do you care about the witches?"

"That's my business now, isn't it?"

Later, at the Mausoleum, the church clock began to chime midnight.

"His time is up. What you gonna do now, Sophie?" Agnes asked.

"I'm gonna do what I said I was gonna do."

"What? Kill the girl? Kill yourself? Klaus does not care about the child."

"I do," said Elijah, holding the body of Jane Anne in his arms. "Let me prove my intent to help you. The body of your fallen friend which I procured from Marcel himself."

"Jane Anne."

"She should be granted in peace. Klaus will agree your terms. I just need a little more time. For now, accept the deal. The girl and the child remain unharmed or Klaus will kill you all. And I will help him."

A few minutes later, Elijah found Nik drinking.

"Have I not made clear my desire to be left alone?" Klaus asked.

"Oh, you demand to be left alone at least once a decade. The words have ceased to have impact." Klaus threw his bottle of whisky on the ground.

"Why must you keep harping on about the baby? That child will never be born. In fact, Hayley is probably dead already." Elijah sped Klaus into a wall.

"You will not walk away from this!"

"Let. Me. Go."

"I WILL NOT!" He threw Klaus against the floor and heaved him up.

"Don't make me say it again.

"I will not let go. I will never let go." Klaus grabbed Elijah and hurled him against a fence of iron rods. Elijah took one of the iron rods and walked toward Klaus. "Even if I have to spent eternity saving you from your own stubborn, petulant, vile self." Elijah hit him with the rod. "Even if I have to beat you as Father used to to remind you of your own humanity." He hit Klaus again. "To care about anything." As Elijah prepared to him again, Klaus grabbed the rod and hit his brother with hit, hurling Elijah several meters back.

"You're beyond pathetic, Elijah," said Nik, dropping the rod.

"Who is more pathetic? The one who sees hope to make his family whole or the coward who only see the world through his own fear?"

"I haven't cared for anything for centuries. Why on earth do you?"

"Because I failed you. Cause the first time our father laid a hand on you I should have struck him dead. I made a promise to you: Always and forever. Family above all." Klaus laughed. Then he pulled his brother up from the ground.

"You are a sentimental fool."

"Perhaps. I've lasted this long in spite of it, haven't I?"

The bond of family blesses us with an immeasurable power. But we also must accept what comes with it. It gives us the responsibility to love without condition. Without apology. We can never waiver from the power of that bond, even if it's tested. The bond nourishes us, gives us strength. Without that power we are nothing.

Klaus walked down a deserted street and sat down on a bench. After a minute, Emma arrived and sat beside him.

"Come to give me a pep talk about the joys of fatherhood?" he asked.

"I think all that needs to be said has been said," Emma replied gracefully.

"I forgot how much I liked this town."

"I didn't forget. I hated leaving here."

"As did I."

"Are you aware that the witches can't leave here? They practice ancestral magic. They draw their power directly from their dead in the cemeteries. If they go, they leave the source of power behind."

"That explains their hunger for revolution. Marcel has found a way of controlling them. I want to know what it is."

"What's on your mind?"

"For a thousand years, I lived in fear. Any time I settled anywhere, Mikael would hunt me down and...chase me off. He made me feel powerless, and I hated it. This town was my home once, and in my absence, Marcel has gotten everything that I ever wanted. Power, loyalty, family. We made him and he has bettered us."

"Well, that's debatable."

"I want what he has, Emma. I want to be king."

"Then we take it and we make the vampires in this town quake in fear at the mere name of the Mikaelsons and the Salvatores." Nik smiled. "What of Hayley and the baby?"

"Every king needs an heir. Tell Sophie Deveraux we have a deal," Klaus smiled.

The following morning, Emma walked through the cemetery with Sophie.

"So, how do you propose this will work?" Emma asked.

"Klaus needs to cement his place in Marcel's world. His inner circle, the daywalkers. That's where we begin. They're his friends, his family. We'll be hitting him where it hurts." Klaus provided the cure for Thierry at Marcel's place and patched things up with his progeny. "No one can know of our arrangement. Marcel will retaliate and I don't want any more dead witches. I want you to make him suffer. Undermine his rule, distract him, but above all keep him alive."

"And why's that?"

"You need to earn my trust before I let you in on witch business. Just know he needs to remain unharmed."

"You have no idea what you're asking. Nik's temper is legendary."

"Then I guess you got your work cut out for you."

"I suppose so. Sophie, I am a mother myself. So let me assure you of one thing. If you kill the girl or her unborn child, you will not have to fear Marcel, Nik, Elijah, Damon or anyone more than you will need to fear me." Sophie left accepting Emma's warning and the old vampiress jumped up onto one of the mausoleums. She took a seat on the cement, one of her legs hanging over the edge while the other was folded to her chest. A fire burned in her eyes. A crow cawed and flew to her before turning into Damon.

"I've seen that look before," he said before sitting down beside her.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Rio." Emma turned away. "Why the act?"

"What?"

"You acted all surprised Marcel was the self-proclaimed king, but you already knew because your coven told you."

"That's rubbish."

"Don't lie to me. I was at that party. I saw several of your vampires in the crowd without daylight rings. What the hell's going on? What haven't you told me? What haven't you told Klaus or Elijah?"

Emma looked across the cemetery and at the skyline before letting out a long breath.

"St. Louis Cathedral." Emma motioned to the church steeple. "I remember when that was built. I commissioned it. I wanted to be able to see it no matter where I was in the city. I was pretty religious back then."

"Don't change the subject."

"I'm not. Do you remember when we were heading to Mystic Falls in 1912? I presented you a hypothetical scenario in which a vampire had betrayed another and taken over an entire city. What would you do? And you gave me a plan. An undeniably crazy and risky, but yet brilliant plan."

"It wasn't hypothetical, was it? It was Marcel. He betrayed you."

"Yes, he did. I hated leaving this town, but that bastard gave me no choice."

"No wonder you were so quick to want to kill Marcel. What are you hoping achieve?"

"I want what Klaus wants. I want this city back. That house that Marcel and his inner circle lives in. It was my house. They sleep in our beds, eat from our tables. I want to make this our new home, Damon. Seattle has outlived its usefulness."

"It's more than that. You want more than just the city."

"Yes, it is. Klaus just wants the city back, but me…Klaus can't know what I truly want. I'm afraid he'd try to stop me. I want Marcel to suffer."

"What did he do to you?"

"He betrayed me, betrayed my trust. I came to Mystic Falls because of him. My desire to die was all due to him. At the time, I couldn't blame him for me wanting to kill myself, but I do now. He broke a part of me that I'll never get back and because of that…vengeance will be mine. There's a reason I don't want you here, Damon. And it's not because of Adria. That was an excuse. Adria doesn't display witch magic. It's a different kind. The real reason is that I don't want you to have to see what I will become with this plan that I started over fifty years ago. I may very well lose another part of myself, but…I have to do it."

"Okay." Emma looked at Damon quizzically.

"You aren't going to try to stop me?"

"No. In fact, I'm going to help you. You aren't going to lose a part of yourself, Emmy, because I'll be here. I'll be the one who pulls you back from the edge. And I'll gladly deliver Marcel's head to you. Just say the word. I know you haven't told me everything, but I can see that the wounds he inflicted on you, though they may not be fresh, are deep. And I made a promise to you. That whoever hurt you, I would strike down without hesitation."

"I'm sorry I can't you everything. It's just…"

"Shh. I can wait. We have an eternity after all." Emma closed her eyes, smiling, and laid her head against Damon's shoulder.

"Thank you," Emma replied before he kissed her softly.

Meanwhile, Hayley and Elijah were in a huge house. Hayley began to pull a blanket from a crib and coughed due to the dust.

"You alright?" Elijah asked.

"Just dust. This place is ancient."

"Yes. It should serve our purposes. It's a sanctuary from our business in the Quarter. Right now you are the most important person in this family. You need a good home. So I'm curious in all this time if anyone has asked you how you feel."

"About having a miracle baby with a psychotic one-night-stand?"

"About being a mother."

"I...I was abandoned when I was born and my adoptive parents kicked me out the second I turned into a wolf. So...I don't really know how I feel about being a mother because I...I never really had a good one."

"I will always protect you. You have my word on that."

"And noble Elijah always keeps his word," said Klaus, appearing in the doorway.

"Is it done?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. Your underhanded deal worked quite well. Marcel was only too happy to accept my blood even as he accepted my heartfelt apologies. His man Thierry lives and I remain a welcome guest in the French Quarter. The only concern now is this coven of impudent witches."

"I believe them to be honorable. They did release Hayley to me. Although they haven't been entirely forthcoming. Marcel obviously has something that they need. They don't want him dead. And there must be a reason why." Elijah and Klaus moved into the study to talk. "In addition to the secret weapon he uses to control the witches Marcel has a small army of vampires. Working together we can destroy them from inside."

"In my desire to reclaim this town, to steal from Marcel that which he holds most dear, I have realized one massive vulnerability. One weakness that Marcel could exploit."

"And what is that?"

"You." He daggered Elijah and the eldest Mikaelson screamed in pain. "Forgive me, my brother. There is no power in love. Mercy makes you weak. Family makes you weak. If I am going to win this war, I have to do it without you."

* * *

**Please review!**


	3. Back Against The Wall

**Disclaimer: I only own Eliza, Emma, and Adria!**

* * *

It was early morning when Kol gasped awake from a terrible dream. What was bad about it was that it wasn't totally a dream.

"Liza," he whispered as he covered his face with his hand. The tragedy of that night haunted him. The night that his beautiful Eliza died. The night he had never spoken of to Damon or Emma.

It had happened three months ago on a regular evening in Seattle. Damon and Emma were away, dealing with a minor issue in New York. Adria had practically begged her Uncle Kol and Aunt Eliza to let her go to the Seattle Film Festival that night. A school night. Kol would have sworn the girl compelled him to let her go even though she was grounded. Adria was a lot like her father. She had a bit of a mouth on her and was prone to get into a fight or two at school. Stupidly, Kol and Eliza had agreed to let Adria go to the film festival as long as they attended the event with her. That's when the nightmare began.

About halfway through the festival, Eliza had sensed a dangerous presence. Eliza had always been a different kind of vampire, gifted with the ability to sense magic. Hurriedly, Eliza had pushed Kol to hide Adria while she dealt with the warlock. Ever since Adria's birth, groups of witches had wanted to steal Adria's power for their own and time and time again, Emma's coven had destroyed them through their usual tactics. Snapped necks and ripped out hearts. This time was different. Eliza had never felt magic such as this.

In the end, Adria was kept safe, but it came at a price. Eliza and the warlock both died that night and Kol had been plagued with guilt that he couldn't save his wife. Worse still was when he told his daughter, Arianna. Adria and Kol had both agreed that now wasn't the time to tell Emma so they had spun a story that he and Eliza had had a big fight. Not uncommon for the two hotheads. Eliza had left for France to spend time with Arianna while Kol remained in Seattle. Arianna had also agreed to keep up the ruse. But every night, Kol had the same damn dream. It haunted him. He knew soon it had to stop, especially with the big move to New Orleans. It was all everyone was talking about. Adria was very excited. She was going to be attending Tulane University with her Aunt Caroline and Uncle Tyler. Emma and Caroline had mended the rift that had grown between them, mostly due to Tyler and Damon locking them in a room together. Caroline, in her usual bubbly manner, had even become friends with Kol's rough wife before the incident.

Knowing he wouldn't be able to get anymore sleep, Kol dressed and walked down the stairs. He found Adria in the kitchen making coffee.

"You're up awfully early," he muttered as Adria noticed her uncle and poured him a cup of joe.

"Well, who could sleep with all the racket in the west wing?"

"Again?" Kol asked.

"Again. I swear those two go at it like rabbits. I can't wait until Tulane. No more hearing parental moaning." Kol chuckled. "You look tired."

"I had the dream again."

"Not here," Adria warned, seeing by Kol's facial expression that he wanted to convince Adria to tell Emma and Damon about Eliza together. While Kol wanted to tell Emma and Damon, Adria was adamant against it, knowing it would distract her mother from her plans.

"Addy. I got another e-mail from Emma."

"Not here," she hissed. "Come with me." The two vampires then left the house while Emma and Damon continued their morning bedroom activities. They sped toward a park a fair distance from the house and Kol read Emma's email to Adria:

_Hey Eliza, how is the summer almost over, yet I feel like I got nothing done? Sounds like you're having fun with Arianna. I still don't know how I'm supposed to do this whole Mission: Destroy Marcel without you. Adria's excited to start university and apparently, Caroline has spent all summer designing the color palette of their dorm room while Tyler has been away helping some wolf pack in Tennessee. Anyway, I can't wait to see you. When are you coming home? Love, Emma. _

"How much longer are we going to keep this up, Adria?" Kol asked. "I can't keep lying to my friends."

"Just until this whole Marcel thing blows over."

"We don't know how long it's going to take to topple Marcel's empire. It could take months."

"Or days," Adria suggested optimistically. Kol rolled his eyes.

"I want to talk to her," said Kol meaningfully.

"Fine," Adria groaned. She closed her eyes and suddenly Eliza appeared. Kol's eyes warmed at the sight of his wife. Adria had the nifty ability to summon spirits and because Eliza was Kol's blood mate, he had the ability to see her ghostly form.

"Kol," she smiled warmly.

"Liza."

"Ugh. You two are as bad as my parents," Adria grimaced.

"Adria's right, Kol. Now isn't the time," said Eliza.

"How long are you going to postpone the inevitable?"

"I've been watching, Emma. She's happy. I'm not taking that away from her, Kol. We're lucky. How many people get to die and still talk to the love of their life?"

"I can't feel you, Eliza."

"Reply back to the e-mail."

"But…"

"Just do it. I'll make it easy. I'll tell you exactly what to say."

"Fine. As long as we have an agreement that we are going to tell your best friend and her husband about your…unfortunate demise. And soon."

"Agreed. After the move. I promise." Kol pulled out his phone and began to type out a reply.

"Dear Emma," Kol began.

"Oh, don't start with dear," Eliza grimaced.

"It's bad enough you're dead, love. Now you're a control freak?"

"I'm just saying. People don't say dear anymore. I think you were locked in that coffin for too long."

"Fine. How about 'Hey, Emma. What's up?'"

"Thank you."

Later in the day, Kol returned to the house and saw Emma and Damon making out raunchily on the couch. He averted his eyes as Emma jumped off Damon.

"Hey, um, sorry." There was an unspoken rule in the mansion of no making out or sex in designated areas. The living happened to be such an area. "I thought you left."

"I did…" Damon motioned for Kol to go away. "Five hours ago."

"Oh. Well, there's blood in the fri…" Kol walked up the stairs and Emma turned back to Damon, laughing off the awkwardness.

That night, Emma was in the bathtub reading Eliza's reply while Damon finished shaving.

_Hey, Emma. What's up? You guys have no idea how much I miss you. I've been e-mailing with Kol. If Katherine ingesting the only cure on this earth and having to live as a human isn't justice, I don't know what is. I miss you guys. I'm glad you're having a great summer and I can't wait to hear all about your plans concerning Marcel The Dumbass. P.S. Have you heard from Stefan The Obnoxious?_

Emma thought about Eliza's questions as Damon toweled his face dry.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I've just got this weird feeling like something bad's about to happen."

"Well, it is. You're leaving tomorrow." It had been agreed among everyone in Seattle that Kol, Rebekah, and Emma would leave for New Orleans tomorrow. They were all concerned about the lack of communication from the rest of The Original Family. While Emma had been reluctant to leave, Damon and Adria had insisted, knowing taking down Marcel was much more important than helping her family pack boxes.

"Well, if you hadn't insisted on staying here to make sure all your precious paintings were safe then I wouldn't have to leave with Kol and Rebekah tomorrow. You could come with."

"Those Monets cost me an arm and a leg, not to mention that Ming vase of yours that I replaced. And tomorrow was the only moving appointment I could get without compelling someone. And I didn't really feel like using any more compulsion on the poor bastards. You wouldn't believe how taxing it was for them to agree to move all our crap and not put it on the books. Tomorrow is going to be awful without you. Are you sure I can't convince you?"

"Can't you just be a normal husband and support me as I attempt to take down a vampire dictator?"

"Hmm. I'd rather ply you with champagne and spend the night convincing you to stay."

Emma giggled as Damon leaned in to kiss her twice. He paused before he got up and walked into the bedroom. Emma's smile faded before she sighed and pulled up the contact list on her phone. Her thumb hovered over "Stefan", but after a few seconds she put her phone aside and submerged herself in bath water. Quickly, she shot up, gasping, having sensed something in the water.

"You okay?" Damon asked.

"Yeah. That was weird. I…I felt something."

"What?"

"Like a…a spark." Emma shook her head. "I think I'm getting paranoid in my old age." However, Emma wasn't paranoid at all. In the moment that the spark had touched Emma's mind, Stefan had woken up in his underwater prison. He struggled in the icy grip of the water, but fell unconscious again.

The following morning, Kol and Emma placed their bags at the front door. A car horn honked outside the house.

"Looks like Rebekah just pulled up," said Damon.

"Maybe I should wait," said Emma, the strange happenings in the tub still bothering her.

"You're leaving. You're going to infiltrate Marcel's inner circle, kick his ass, and take over the Quarter. And I am gonna take care of our daughter and all the packing. Trust me. You have nothing to worry about."

"Okay. Addy, if you need anything, just call me."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Mom," Adria replied before hugging her mother.

"I love you. Bye." She walked toward Damon as Kol put their bags in the car. Emma kissed Damon passionately before leaning her head against his and stepping back, her hands hanging around Damon's neck. "I love you."

"I love you." They smiled. Damon went to the front door, opening it, as Emma waved goodbye to Adria. "All right. Off you go." Emma walked out, but as Damon was closing the door, Emma peeked back in to kiss him one last time. She left and a smile lingered on Damon's lips. He then looked at Adria. "I need you to go on a blood run. It's a long drive to New Orleans." Adria nodded and left the house. While on the road to New Orleans, Emma told Kol and Rebekah about her worries.

"You're dreaming about Stefan?" Rebekah asked.

"They're not dreams, it's more of a...feeling. Maybe you should call him."

"So he can hear how happy you are with Damon? Absolutely not. He'll call you when he's ready."

A few hours later, Emma called Damon from a gas station in Denver.

"How's it going?" she asked.

"Fine. We've just finished loading up the truck." Damon walked into the parlor to find Katherine, bedraggled and human, standing there.

"So what you're saying is everything's going smoothly?"

"Exactly. Listen, I got to, uh…go." He hung up.

"It's been a while, Damon."

"Katherine." The new human downed a shot of bourbon.

"You're gonna have to cut me off soon. My tolerance is a joke now. It's just so... glorious."

"You're miserable," Damon smirked.

"Please. I'm Katherine Pierce – I'm a survivor."

"You're a liar. Your hair's messed up, your nails are chipped. You're a sad and miserable human being and you want me to turn you. So, here." Damon bit open his wrist and offered it to her. "Go ahead, drink up. I'll kill you, you'll bite the movers, you'll be a vampire again. Go ahead, come on."

"I can't, okay? No one's ever taken the cure before. If I die, there's a good chance I may never wake up."

"And that would be tragic."

"And deep down, in that mushy-gushy Emma-loving heart, there's a part of you that doesn't want me to die."

"What are you doing here, Katherine?" The house phone began to ring. Damon moved to get it but Katherine beat him it to.

"Salvatore Residence. Hello, Sheriff, this is Emma. Oh, dear. We'll find her." She hung up and turned to Damon.

"Looks like Adria got into a bit of a fight at the hospital. Cops are looking for her. Emma will be cool with that, right?"

"When I get back, you're gone."

"Wait, Damon. There's someone chasing me."

"Then run. Run far away."

"Damon, you don't understand. I have enemies everywhere."

"Klaus doesn't want your blood, Katherine. He's done with hybrids."

"I have _other_ enemies. What happens when word gets out that I'm a human? I can't protect myself! I'm weak and I'm slow – do you have any idea what it's like to run in heels? I have blisters, Damon! Please, just...help me." Katherine's plea for help was grudging but desperate, and Damon was torn.

"I don't have time for this." Damon sped out of the house as movers rolled a rack of clothes into the moving van. Damon looked all over Seattle and finally found his daughter's Porsche by the docks.

"One day. One day where you don't get in a fight," Damon growled.

"Leave me alone, Dad."

"You're lucky you didn't put one of those idiots in ICU."

"Says the guy who snapped Aunt Bekah's neck during Thanksgiving dinner."

"Yes. In the privacy of my own home! Away from prying eyes, unlike you who went all vampire in the middle of a hallway. I compelled the cops. Your mother does not need to know about this. Let's go." Silas as Stefan then approached the two.

"Hello, Damon," he said.

"Stefan. Welcome home."

"Thanks." They went in for a hug, Silas slapping a hand on Damon's back with brotherly gusto. Standing back, Silas smiled, and Damon half-smiled awkwardly back. "Katherine's living at Château Salvatore."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I can read your mind?" A significant pause. "I'm kidding, buddy. Katherine called me first. Remember? It's always been me first."

"Right."

"Adria. Looking lovely as always." He hugged Adria and a chill ran over the girl.

"Hey, Uncle Stef. Glad you're back."

"Yeah…yeah. I'll see you at home."

"Great." Silas then left.

"Something's wrong," said Adria. Damon looked at Adria curiously. "When he touched me, I felt a chill."

"What are you talking about?"

"I felt this presence. Dark, ancient magic. I don't think that was Stefan." Eliza then appeared to Adria.

"It wasn't," she said. "It was Silas. I just found out myself. Warn your father."

"That was Silas."

"That's impossible."

"Dad, I know what I'm feeling. That was Silas."

"We need to get back to the house. Now."

When they returned to the house, Katherine ran toward Damon who handed her off to Adria.

"Get her out of here. Don't tell me where you're going." They left and Damon turned to Silas. "God, you're slow. Guess vamp-speed came with the upgrade."

"Get out of my way and give me Katherine," said Silas.

"First, drop the Stefan look." Silas chuckled. "What?" A few minutes later, a positively puzzled look appeared on Damon's face. "If I have to hear the word 'doppelgänger' one more time, I think I'm gonna actually have to learn how to spell it."

"You say you don't believe me, and yet your mind is spinning at the possibility."

"A), Get out of my head; B), I think I'd know if my little brother had an evil twin."

"Oh, we're not twins. See, when I became truly immortal, Nature retaliated by creating a version of me that was killable. It's called a 'shadow-self'."

"Well, whatever you are, your plan didn't work. The cure's gone. Now, what do you want with Katherine?"

"I could tell you, but wouldn't it be so much more fun if it were a surprise?"

"You're not getting her."

"Damon, how well do you know your brother? Do you really think he would leave town without so much as a phone call, so you could live happily ever after? Or did you just delude yourself into thinking it would be that easy?"

"Where's Stefan?"

"We had an interesting little encounter in Seattle, or was it Florence, maybe New Orleans. He's suffering, like I suffered. So, call your daughter, bring me Katherine, and then I will tell you where your little brother is."

On the road, Adria was driving Katherine to an unknown destination.

"Where are we going?" Katherine asked. Adria ignored her. "Are you deaf? I said where are we going?"

Adria's phone rang and she answered it, placing it on speakerphone, "Hey."

"How far'd you get?"

"You said not to tell you."

"You pick now to listen to me?"

"We just passed Old Miller Road."

"Good. Turn around, bring her back."

"What? No!" Katherine shrieked. Adria hung up and made a U-turn.

"What are you doing? Adria, stop! You can't take me back there, Adria. Damon wouldn't just hand me over. Silas clearly got in his head."

"Shut up before I eat you," Adria growled. Katherine looked around wildly, desperate. She jabbed her hand at Adria's seatbelt buckle. "Hey! What the hell!" The tires squealed as Adria began to lose control of the car. Katherine grabbed the wheel and drove them head on into a utility pole.

At the mansion, Damon was texting fast on his phone while Silas watched him closely.

"Ooh, your thoughts are churning. It's like a...spool of pink taffy. It's very messy, but very fun to watch," said Silas.

"Anyone ever tell you that's creepy?"

"You're worried. Adria's not answering her phone. She should be back by now. You think something's very wrong."

As Adria began to snap her bones in place, Katherine stumbled outside of the wrecked car and hobbled away. A few minutes later, Damon arrived at the scene.

"Addy! Addy!" He sped over to her, wiping the blood off her face.

"Oh, that bitch. I liked that car. She's gone."

"I don't care," Damon sighed in relief, hugging his daughter and stroking her hair.

Meanwhile, Kol, Rebekah, and Emma arrived at Klaus' house in New Orleans. Emma was leaving a message on Elijah's phone.

"Elijah, if not answering your phone is what you consider to be a good joke, then you really need to watch some better sitcoms. I'm here with your brother and sister and I'm worried. Now pick up before I kick in your bloody door," Emma snapped before kicking down the door. Hayley came down the stairs, wielding a fire iron.

"Who the hell are you?" she asked.

"Oh, you must be the maid. My bags are in the car – get them, will you?" Rebekah asked. Hayley, smiling wryly, put down the iron poker.

"Hello. Not the maid."

"This is Hayley," said Emma to Rebekah and Kol.

"Right. You're that werewolf girl my brother, Klaus, knocked up. I was expecting to see some kind of supernatural, miracle baby bump. Guess you're not showing yet."

"You have your brother's manners."

"And his temper, too, so watch it."

"Where's Elijah?" Emma asked.

"Beats me. He's long gone."

"What do you mean, 'long gone'?"

"Well, one minute he was here making epic promises about protecting me in this predicament that a bottle of scotch and some bad decisions got me into – he was all poetic about how we're family – and then Klaus told me he bailed. Guess that's what I get for trusting a vampire."

"Elijah is not just any vampire, and he doesn't break promises," said Kol. "Which means Niklaus has done something dastardly and Klaus-like. Klaus! Get out here and tell me what you've done with our brother, you narcissistic, back-stabbing wanker!"

"Enough with all the shouting," said Nik as he entered the room. "Emma, brother, sister, I should have known. I assume the six dead vampires were your doing?"

"They were very rude," Emma smirked, remembering their encounter with the New Orleans vampires at a bar. "Trying to victimize a poor, innocent girl just trying to find her way to the Quarter. So sorry, were they friends of yours? Oh, that's right, you don't have any friends."

"I do have friends. I have Marcel. You remember him, don't you? Yes, of course you do. He fancies himself the 'King of the Quarter' now, and he has these rules about killing vampires. It'll be fun to see what sort of punishment he comes up with for you."

"We don't care about Marcel or his rules. Elijah doesn't welsh on deals. What did you do to him?" Rebekah threatened.

"Perhaps he's on holiday...or taking a long autumn nap upstairs. Well, go on. Take a look around. You remember this house as well as I."

"I remember everything," Rebekah replied meaningfully. "I remember how the drunken fool of a governor hid away all of our vampire sins in exchange for gold. I remember the lavish parties the governor threw, as if to impress you. I remember how happy we were."

_New Orleans, 1820_

Upstairs, Elijah kissed Emma while further down the hall Klaus finished drinking from two ladies while a lavish party was thrown downstairs.

"Elijah, I believe Nik's gone too far again," Emma said.

"Niklaus, there is no hope for you, is there?" Rebekah joined them with the Governor's son, Emil, in tow.

"Are we interrupting?" Rebekah asked.

"Yes," said Klaus and Emma.

"No," Elijah replied.

"Dearest Elijah. You've only ever wished happiness for me. Emil and I are in love. Please, let me turn him." Klaus and Emma chuckled.

"Rebekah, the governor has graciously agreed to hide a lot of our...indiscretions. It would not do to turn his son into one of us," said Elijah.

"Please. For me."

"It's not going to happen, Sister. If we turned every man you dropped your knickers for, then human beings would cease to exist and we'd have no bloody food." Emma laughed.

"How dare you, sir! You would do well to treat–" Klaus grabbed Emil by the neck and forcibly walked him down the hallway.

"Brother," Elijah warned as Rebekah screeched his name.

"Nik, wait!" said Emma. Klaus ignored them and threw Emil off the balcony where he fell several stories and died instantly. Elijah held a sobbing Rebekah while Klaus walked off.

_Present Day_

"Well, he wasn't good enough for you," said Klaus.

"No one was ever good enough for me, Nik, you made sure of that. Now where is Elijah?" Klaus phone began to buzz. He checked it and moved to leave.

"Where are you going?" Kol asked.

"It appears the night is not quite over, yet. I'm off for another drink with Marcel."

"Elijah told me about your plan to take apart Marcel's empire piece by piece. I don't remember it involving you two drinking New Orleans dry together," Emma growled.

"I know you don't have many friends, Emma, but what some friends do when they get together is they drink. And when they drink, they tell secrets. Marcel has somehow found a way to control the entirety of witches in the Quarter, and I aim to uncover the 'how' so I might take it for myself. Finding Elijah didn't make my to-do list today." Klaus turned and walked to the door, but paused before leaving. "Oh and welcome home." The door shut behind him and Emma contemplated what he said. Rebekah looked up to Hayley sitting on the landing above.

"You, wolf girl. We're going to search this house inch by inch until we find what my evil brother has done to my good one. You're helping." They walked down a spiral staircase.

"The governor had lots of secret rooms. I'll show you his favorite," Emma explained. They arrived in a dusty, cobwebbed cellar room. Hayley spied the coffins Klaus kept his siblings daggered in.

"You think Klaus killed him," said Hayley.

"We can't be killed, silly girl. That doesn't stop Klaus from finding ways to torture us," said Kol. "He has a set of mystical silver daggers. One in the heart sends us into a deep slumber. Klaus gets his jollies from keeping us in a box, until he decides to pull the dagger out. That must be what he's done to Elijah. This one's mine."

"He keeps your coffin on standby," said Hayley incredulously.

"He likes to be prepared for when his family members inevitably disappoint him. Elijah's isn't here – he must've stashed him elsewhere," said Rebekah.

"I feel sick."

"Welcome to the family, love. You should've run the second you realized Elijah was gone," said Kol.

"Yeah, well, the witches have put some sort of hex on me. As long as I'm carrying this baby, I can't leave New Orleans. If I do, they kill me."

"Well, knowing Klaus, he's planning a box for you the second you give birth to whatever's cooking in your tum. I'm leaving as soon as I find Elijah. Being daggered in a box for decades sucks, trust me. You'd best find a way to break that hex and run," said Rebekah. The three vampires left to continue their search. As the night dragged on, Emma's phone rang. Damon and Adria were on the road, heading toward New Orleans.

"Hey, sorry it took so long to call you back. Car trouble," Damon answered.

"What happened?"

"Oh, some idiot broke the window. Based on your voicemail, sounds like your day sucked worse than mine. You all right?"

"Yeah. But Nik's being evasive. He's done something to Elijah. Are you on your way?"

"Yeah. I'll see you in the morning?"

"Yeah. I love you, Damon."

"Goodnight." He hung up and Adria looked at her father.

"You didn't tell her about Silas."

"Nor did I tell her Stefan's missing, Katherine's hanging around, and you got into another fight."

"So you lied."

"No, I withheld a bit of the truth."

"We shouldn't be heading to New Orleans. Silas is probably still hanging around Seattle. If we want to get Uncle Stefan back, shouldn't we be finding out what Silas is up to?"

"We need to show up in New Orleans so your mother doesn't freak out Now we can travel back to Seattle instantaneously with the help of this little crystal." He pulled the transportation crystal out of his pocket. "Don't worry. I'll figure all this out."

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	4. Ball & Chain

**Disclaimer: I only own Emma, Adria, and Eliza!**

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Sophie was scrubbing a table inside Rousseau's when the door shut suddenly. She heard the whoosh of a vampire running unseen. She walked cautiously, listening for further sounds.

"Hello? Seriously, Marcel? Trying to scare me? I had nothing to do with the attack on your guys last night!" Some hanging pots started moving behind Sophie, as though a wind had passed through them, and she turned around. She walked toward them slowly, then grabbed a knife. She lifted in time for Emma to appear and grab her raised, knife-wielding arm.

"Sophie Deveraux. We meet again," Emma smiled before grin faded, "We need to talk." The two left the restaurant and spoke among the burial vaults of the cemetery. "So, if I had to guess, knowing Klaus's history, Elijah has a dagger in his chest. It's a magical object, you're a witch. Do a locator spell, locate the dagger, locate Elijah."

"I can't use magic. It's punishable by death – Marcel's rules."

"Marcel? What do you think I'm going to do to you if you don't give me what I want?"

"Not much. I've been linked, so anything you do to me, you do to Hayley."

"Luckily for you, Elijah seems to care about her, otherwise I'd break your neck right here. How did Marcel get so bloody powerful? He wasn't like this when I left all those years ago."

"Marcel has a way to tell whenever there's magic done in the Quarter. The 'how' isn't relevant."

"I'll tell you what's not bloody relevant – a coven of witches who can't do magic. Your idiocy is astounding. You should have come to me alone if you wanted to take down Marcel. Trying to convince Klaus to go against him when everyone knows that they have a history…"

"Klaus sired Marcel. I'm aware, but so did you."

"You don't understand. Marcel is not just some guy that Klaus and I turned into a vampire. Klaus loved him like a son. We both did. I was there the day that they met. We were burying Emil, the Governor's only son…or so we thought. Turns out the governor had another son, from a mother that he owned."

_New Orleans, 1700s_

A funeral procession, all dressed in black, followed behind a horse-drawn carriage. A man on a horse whipped a young boy who screamed in pain with each lash. Klaus stepped out of the procession to turn and look at the boy. The boy, having fallen to his knees in pain, grabbed an apple off the ground, turned and threw it at the man with the whip, a fierce look of hatred in his eyes. Infuriated, the man wound up for another lashing, but Klaus grabbed a rock from the ground and hurled it with vampire strength at the man. It hit him in the forehead, and he fell off the horse, dead. Emma, Rebekah, and Elijah watched as Klaus approached the boy.

"What is your name?" Klaus asked.

"Don't got one. Mama wouldn't name me till I turned ten, 'case the fever took me...then it took her." Klaus crouched down before the boy, getting on his level.

"You're a survivor, and survivors need names. How about Marcellus?"

"Marcellus?"

"It comes from Mars, the god of war, and it means 'little warrior'." Klaus stood and held out a hand to the boy, who hesitated, but then smiled, taking it and rising to his feet. Elijah, Rebekah, and Emma watched this entire exchange.

"Perhaps there is hope for him, after all," Elijah muttered.

"I wouldn't hold your breath," Emma countered.

_Present Day_

"Klaus saw himself in the boy. He remembered how his father used to beat him. He, too, was the bastard child of a man who saw him as nothing but a beast. And that is why your plan will fail. All you've done is bring back together two long-lost souls. Without Elijah between them, who knows what they'll do." Emma headed toward the exit of the cemetery and was surprised to see Damon leaning against the gate. "Damon!" She ran into his arms and kissed him.

"Now that's what I call an excellent greeting," Damon smirked.

"I missed you. Where's Adria?"

"Moving into her new dorm room with Caroline."

"Good. Um, I have a few errands to run so I'm not going to be at the house for a while."

"That's fine. I've got boxes to unpack."

"Okay." She gave him a quick peck on the lips. "I'll be home as soon as I can." Damon nodded and Emma disappeared at vampire speed.

At Tulane University, Adria and Caroline were unpacking their stuff in their new dormitory.

"You brought a Panini press?" Adria asked.

"Small appliances, by the fridge," Caroline replied. "So roomie, I think we should drink to something."

"Well, I couldn't agree more... roomie." Caroline opened her suitcase and pulled out two blood bags. She tossed one to Adria. "To us, and college, and being functional vampires."

"To the next chapter in our lives." They "clinked" their bags in a mock toast as a knock came to the door. With vampire speed, they stashed their blood bags and turned to face whoever the visitor was. The door opened and an unfamiliar girl walked in, carrying a load of stuff.

"Hey."

"Uh, who are you?" Caroline asked.

"Oh, I'm Megan. Your roommate." Adria and Caroline looked at each other, shocked and confused. Meanwhile, Marcel and Klaus were in a parking garage.

"You take me to the nicest places," said Klaus. Thierry and Diego opened the doors of a van. Two people were lying in the van.

"Welcome to the land of the newly dead. I won't waste your time," said Marcel before turning to Thierry. "I trust you filled them in?"

"To be honest, not much in the way of potential here."

"Yeah, well, I just lost six nightwalkers. I got holes to fill. I'll keep this quick. That itch you feel? That's the need to feed coming on strong, a hunger for human blood. Drink it you're a vampire. Don't you die. Again. This time for good. Right here in a body bag." Marcel turned to Klaus. "Hey, what do you think, cute dorky girl or gay best friend?"

"Dealer's choice."

"Dealer's choice, okay." Marcel showed them a coin. "Whoever picks up this coin gets to live forever. The other one dies." He laid the coin between them. "Go!" Josh looked at Tina and she immediately grabbed the coin.

"Damn girl!" Marcel laughed.

"How could you?" Josh asked.

"Get over it, Josh. It's not like I had a choice. You would've done the same thing, but you're such a little…" Marcel killed Tina by breaking her neck.

"Let her die in cold storage. Got a thing about people who betray their own friends. C'mon. Let's go for a ride." Emma watched from a balcony above as Klaus loaded Josh into Marcel's SUV. She saw Marcel talking on his cell phone and recalled a memory.

_New Orleans, 1700s_

"Attack au Fer! Now counter-parry. A hit! Palpable hit," said Klaus as Emma fenced a young Marcel into a corner.

"I'm gonna marry you some day," said Marcel as he removed his mask.

"I would never marry someone who couldn't best me in a duel. Another lesson?" Emma asked, her divorce from Elijah still fresh. Emma's memory segued into a later memory when Marcel was a full grown man. They dueled until Marcel backed Emma into a corner. They removed their fencing masks. Marcel was about to kiss Emma when Klaus appeared and they stepped back from each other.

_Present Day_

"Emma Petrova or should I say Salvatore?"

"Marcel." Emma turned around to see her progeny.

"Come back to teach me another lesson?"

"There's no need to be so patronizing, Marcel."

"I thought you left."

"I did."

"And now you're back."

"Yes with my family. I think Klaus has done something to Elijah."

"Stop. Stop right there. If there is one thing I learned about you and The Originals, it's don't get in the middle of family feuding. Doesn't end well."

_New Orleans, 1700s_

"There is nothing going on between us. I swear it, on my life," said Klaus.

"Your life means something to me. Give me the privilege of honesty or that will cease to be the case."

"I like her. And I think it's mutual, but I haven't done anything about it. I wouldn't."

"I love Emma, but she lacks fortune when it comes to men. They come and go for her, but my family is the constant. She is like a sister to me."

"You said I was family. I have begged you to turn me into a vampire."

"And I told you, I will turn you when you're ready. You go near Emma again, and you never will be."

_Present Day_

"Even after all you've achieved, you're still scared of him," Emma chuckled.

"I'm not scared of anyone."

"If I find out you know where Elijah is, you needn't fear Klaus – I'll kill you myself."

"Nostalgia's a blast and all, but I can't help you. It was nice seeing you, though. Good luck finding what you're looking for." Marcel jumped off the balcony. Emma grew suspicious. Marcel knew something.

At the Mikaelson Mansion, Damon was on the phone with a vampire he knew in Seattle.

"Damon, I know I said I'd help you find your brother, but I can't dredge the entirety of Puget Sound. It's enormous," said Veronica.

"I'm aware of that. But listen to my theory. Now, say I'm Silas, and I wanna take over my doppelgänger's life. Why wouldn't I dump him in a place that's big and deep, where no one would find him?

"I can't devote those kinds of resources to finding one person who may or may not be down there."

"But it's a place to start. And if Stefan's down there, that means he's been drowning over and over again all summer, while I've been happily playing house with Emma. Do I need to further elaborate the source of my urgency?"

"I'll get some vampires on it."

"Thank you, Veronica." As he hung up, Emma called him and told him about her encounter with Marcel.

"You want me to beat him up?" Damon asked, a little too eager.

"Not yet. Whatever he knows, I'm gonna get it out of him."

"Did you compel him?"

"No. He takes vervain."

"How about violence? Did you threaten him?"

"No, I didn't threaten him," said Emma as she walked down to the end of the parking garage.

"Would you at least tell me you used torture?"

"Damon!"

"You do realize that you're married to a reformed serial killer, right?" Emma giggled.

"What would a hero do?"

"That? I have no idea."

"Stefan?" Emma asked, seeing Silas in front of her.

"I don't know. Probably mope at him," said Damon.

"Stefan's here, right now."

"What?"

"Turn off your phone," said Silas.

"Emma, whoa, that is not…" She hung up.

"I know you're upset that I didn't call, so I just wanted to apologize in person." Emma hugged him, but then felt a chill.

"Never do that again, okay? I thought something terrible happened to you."

"Well, something terrible did happen to me—you fell in love with my brother."

"Ouch."

"Can't blame me for needing a little bit of space."

"I know. Where did you go?"

"Well, that's not important. I'm sure Damon will fill you in eventually."

"You talked to Damon? Because I just spoke to him, and he didn't really say anything."

"Oh, weird. Maybe he has his hands full with the whole, you know, Adria situation."

"What Adria situation?"

"Oh, it's not a big deal. Adria got in another fight."

"What!" Emma screeched. "Wait, how do I not know about this?" Silas then tried to use his mind control on Emma.

"I need you to do something for me. I need you to kill your husband." Emma's eyes narrowed and she grabbed Silas by the throat.

"Who the hell are you? Because you sure as hell aren't Stefan."

"Hmm. Interesting. My mind control doesn't work on you." Emma threw Silas into a column.

"That's because I'm a vampire-witch. I'm more resistant to compulsion. Now, I won't ask again. Who are you?"

"I'm Silas." He then gave Emma a vampire migraine and he escaped. As she recovered, she thought over what happened. He said his name was Silas, but he looked like Stefan. Could he be…could Stefan be…a doppelganger? What the hell was going on?

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	5. Terrible Love

**Disclaimer: I only own Eliza, Adria, and Emma!**

* * *

At Tulane, Megan was getting to know her new roommates.

"Do you have a boyfriend, Caroline?" she asked.

"I do. His name's Tyler. He had to miss move-in day, but he'll be here for the first day of classes."

"Assuming he registers. And picks a dorm. And buys books," Adria added.

"Speaking of minding one's own business, let's talk roommate ground rules. Privacy is very important to me," said Caroline.

"Same here," Megan agreed.

"I have low blood sugar. My diet's finicky, so keep your paws off my stuff."

"We'll split up the shelves."

"And if I suddenly get up to leave or disappear for a while, don't follow me or look for me."

"Okay... sounds good."

"Great, then we agree on everything," said Adria. Another student, Jesse, approached them with a flyer.

"Excuse me, ladies. Party at Tulane House tonight."

"We'll be there," said Adria.

"I hope so," said Jesse, looking at Caroline.

"I love college," Adria smiled, giddily, wrapping an arm around Caroline's shoulders while they watched Jesse walk away. Later in the evening, Adria was putting on earrings while watching herself in the mirror, seemingly lost in thought until Caroline loudly shut a drawer.

"Did you notice how Megan's juicer takes up all the small appliance space? She has an entire drawer dedicated to organic linen."

"What happened to privacy?"

"Maybe if she didn't take such long showers, I wouldn't have time to go through her stuff. How are you okay with a third roommate?"

"Because we're trying to be functional, and being functional means we need friends."

"We also need personal space. I mean, what if we suddenly get a craving, and I want to eat her? Or our blood bags go bad because we can't store them in the mini-fridge? Ugh, and what the hell is protein water?" Caroline pulled out the bottle in question and Adria shrugged. "You know what, maybe if I drink it all, she'll wanna move out." Caroline opened the bottle and took a sip. Suddenly, she coughed up the water as it sizzled in her mouth. "Vervain." The door to the bathroom opened and Megan appeared, wrapped in a towel.

"What's going on? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, she's, uh, she's fine," said Adria as Caroline straightened up.

"What happened?"

"Water just went down the wrong pipe. I'm okay, really. I shouldn't have touched your stuff, I'm really sorry."

"It's fine. It just sounded like someone was dying out here. Well, I'm glad you're okay!" She returned to the bathroom, shutting the door.

"She knows who we are – she drinks vervain water!" Caroline freaked out.

"It doesn't mean she knows about us."

"Seriously? We share a bathroom with this girl! What if she's a hunter, and she stakes us when we're in the shower? Or she steals our daylight rings while we're asleep and then we burst into flames when the sun comes up?!"

"Don't you think that, if she was a hunter, we'd be dead by now?"

"I think we should lock her up. You know, let the vervain get out of her system, and then we compel her to forget about us."

"Caroline, I'm not kidnapping our roommate! The best way to convince her that we're normal, is to act normal. And do normal, human, freshman-y stuff."

"Such as?" A grin spread across Adria's face.

At the Mikaelson Mansion, Damon walked into Rebekah's room who had just gotten out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her.

"Damon! Towel, knock!"

"Rebekah. No one cares, no. You talked to Emma? She's not answering my calls."

"No."

"Silas is here. He's with Emma, pretending to be Stefan. Get dressed."

"Oh my God. Oh my God. Emma was right. All summer she's had this pit in her stomach about Stefan."

"What?"

"I don't know. She just said that she had this weird feeling that something was wrong with him."

"Just put some clothes on. Meet me outside. We have to search the Quarter." As night reached the Quarter, Damon walked through the crowded streets looking for Emma.

"Hello, brother," said Silas. "But I suppose distant nephew is probably more accurate." Damon walked up to Silas and grabbed him by the neck.

"Where the hell's my wife?"

"There's no need for violence, Damon. You'll find her eventually." He pulled Damon's hand off his neck. Damon seemed unwilling, but couldn't resist Silas' mind-control forcing him to. "There you go. Look, I get why you like her. I mean, I have a soft spot for brunettes, too. What I don't get is why she likes you."

"That's 'cause you haven't had sex with me."

"Hm. Cockiness masking fear. How transparent."

"You expect me to believe you came all this way just to talk to her?"

"No, that doesn't really make much sense, does it? But if I told you exactly what I did, then it would ruin the fun. Enjoy New Orleans, Damon." Silas patted Damon on the arm and walked away.

At Tulane House, a party was well underway when Jesse approached Caroline and Adria.

"Hey, I remember you," said Jesse to Adria.

"Flyer Guy."

"Jesse, technically, but 'Flyer Guy' works, too."

"I'm Adria, this is Caroline."

"Nice to meet you," said Jesse warmly.

"Hi." Caroline smiled and turned away without another word. Adria looked at Jesse apologetically and followed Caroline.

"You can't be nice to the guy?"

"I'm with Tyler."

"Are you? Because he hasn't called."

"From the mountains of Appalachia?"

"I'm just saying, I don't want you to get your hopes up thinking that he's coming, when he hasn't really shown much interest."

"No relationship is perfect." They stopped suddenly at the entrance to the house, unable to go any further. "What the hell?"

"Someone must own this place. We have to be invited in."

"Hey! I was wondering if you guys were gonna make it," said Megan from the doorway. "Why are you guys just standing there?"

"We were just... Caroline?"

"Waiting for someone."

"She's late."

"Right. Well, I'm gonna go hang," said Megan before she walked back into the house. Adria and Caroline dropped their too-bright smiles.

"Like I said, she knows." Adria and Caroline hovered on the edge of the party outside while Adria leaves a voicemail.

"Hey, Megan, it's Adria. Just calling to let you know why we left, so call me when you get this. Bye."

"Okay, it's settled. When she leaves, we grab her."

"Or we could just let her know you weren't feeling well."

"Adria, she saw us stuck at the threshold, we might as well have flashed her our fangs."

"There's no way that out of the thousands of freshmen, we were randomly paired with someone who knows about vampires."

"Maybe it wasn't random." Adria's phone rang.

"Megan's calling. Hey, Megan."

"Adria! You have to help me! He's chasing me!" Alarmed at the panic in Megan's voice, Adria puts the phone on speaker as Caroline leaned closer.

"Megan, who's chasing you?"

"Help me! Oh, my god!" Suddenly, something fell to the ground beside them and they whirled around toward it.

"Oh my God." It was Megan. Adria crouched down beside her. Her neck was ripped open.

"Who did this to her?" Caroline asked.

"This was a vampire."

In the Quarter, Rebekah and Damon were walking through a crowd of party-goers.

"Why would Silas want to hurt her?" Rebekah asked.

"Because he wants to hurt me."

"You know, if you just would've told the truth, all of this could've been avoided."

"Gee, thanks, Rebekah. Your hindsight is invaluable in this situation." Damon bumped into someone.

"Watch where you're going, douche."

"Have you seen Emma Salvatore?"

"I have no idea who that is, and if I were her, I'd probably run from you, too."

"Wrong answer." Damon grabbed the guy by the throat, but Rebekah stepped in and compelled him instead.

"Forget all this and get out of here." The guy walked away and Rebekah rounded on Damon. "You have to calm down."

"Just find her."

In a bar in the Quarter, Marcel spotted Klaus.

"I know that face. Woman trouble," said Klaus.

"You're a dick, you know that? Why didn't you tell me Emma was back in town?"

"Well, I thought it would be more amusing for you to find out for yourself."

"Is there anything else that I need to know?"

"Only that she's grown considerably more insane in the last century."

"Or maybe that it was her who killed my guys?"

"Doubtful. I can't imagine she'd be interested." Marcel's phone rang and he answered it. Klaus listened in with his vampire hearing.

"Yeah?"

"Just got a tip – someone saw a werewolf in Bienville Park."

"Get a couple night-walkers to run it down. Bring me back its head." He hung up.

"Well, I guess that solves the mystery of the murdered riffraff. At least Emma's in the clear," said Klaus.

"About that. I don't have time for family drama. You're my guest – keep Emma and her family and your family in line."

"I'd have a greater chance of draining the Mississippi with a straw!" Klaus responded as Marcel left.

Meanwhile, Hayley was sitting on a bench, dripping wolfsbane and vervain into a cup.

"Come on, Hayley. One upset stomach and all this stupid drama is ancient history," Hayley said to herself. She lifted the cup toward her face, closed her eyes, then opened them and lowered the cup again without drinking it. She sighed, then heard a branch snap nearby. She stood up, looking around, then turned to find a vampire right in front of her.

"Dumb move coming into the Quarter. You're coming with me, wolf."

"I have had it up to here with vampires telling me what to do." She threw the cup's contents into his face, and he roared in pain. She spun around, only to be faced with two more vampires. Suddenly Emma snapped the neck of one vampire while Kol ripped the heart out of the back of the other.

"Now, that is no way to treat a pregnant lady. I do hate bad manners," said Emma. Hayley gaped at the two vampires, in shock. When they returned to the mansion, Klaus was throwing a body onto a small pile in the front courtyard while he berated Emma, Kol, and Hayley.

"This is why I told you never to leave the house. Werewolves are banned in the Quarter. I had a plan, and your little nighttime stroll put it all in peril! And Emma, you have done quite enough. Leaving a trail of bodies like a road map to my door?"

"If I hadn't overheard this lot bragging about werewolf heads, everyone here would be screwed. And don't give me that crap about having a plan. You've had all the time in the world to execute a plan, and no one's seen you do a damn thing! Elijah made a deal to protect your child, so that it could save you from yourself. But you obviously don't give a damn about the child or Elijah, because what have you done to honor it?"

"I have done everything. Let me spell it out for you, shall I? From the day I arrived, Marcel hasn't trusted me. From Day One, he's had his vampires ingest toxic vervain which, as you know protects them from my mind control. I needed a spy, someone on the inside who Marcel would never suspect. So, I created a Day Zero and got there first. Marcel had just lost six vampires, thanks to your little murder spree, and he needed new recruits. So, I made the new one mine, before he'd had even a drop of vervain. But we all know the real way to a man is through his heart, so I compelled Camille, a bartender he's infatuated with." Klaus then grabbed a vampire that was still alive from the pile. "And this one – I'm gonna drain him of vervain, compel him to believe his mates found religion and moved to Utah, so that he can explain to Marcel why he lost three more vampires tonight." He dragged the vampire into the house. Kol, Emma, and Hayley followed. "Does anyone have any more questions? No? Good, because I have a question. Hayley, what were you doing in the bloody French Quarter in the first place? Answer me!"

"Leave her be," said Emma.

"You wanna know what I was doing? I was buying poison, so I could put your little baby out of its misery," said Hayley. Klaus pinned her to the door by the neck. She gasped for air.

"Nik! NIK!" Emma ran at Klaus and pushed him off of Hayley. Hayley coughed and spluttered as Kol held the woman up. "Keep your hands off her! She is pregnant, for God's sake! All of this bluster about not wanting the child, and then the second she tells you she's ready to get rid of it? It's okay to care. It's okay to want something. That's all Elijah was trying to do, all he's ever wanted for you. All we've ever wanted."

Klaus, calmed down but reeling from being confronted with his feelings, sat down on the stairs. Emma sat beside him.

"I gave Elijah to Marcel."

"What?" Emma and Kol yelled.

"Marcel was nervous. It's bad enough one Original returned to town, now a whole family? His crew was getting antsy. He wanted Elijah gone, so...I gave him a peace offering."

"You bartered our brother?" Kol asked, outraged.

"I have a plan. Gain Marcel's trust, dismantle his empire, honor Elijah's wish that the baby be born. I am executing that plan the only way I know how. If you don't like it, there's the door. See if I care." Klaus rose and left the room. Emma leaned back, her work cut out for her.

* * *

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	6. Sacrilege

**Disclaimer: I only own Eliza, Emma, and Adria!**

* * *

At Tulane House, officials surrounded Megan's body and covered it up while Adria and Caroline observed from a short distance away.

"What is happening?" Adria asked. "Our roommate is dead, there was a vampire at the party..."

"We don't know what she knew or who she told. We should get out of here."

"Caroline, I left that message in her voicemail!"

"Don't worry, I took her phone."

"What?" A policewoman then approached them.

"Hey, girls? I'm Diane Freeman, I'm head of Campus Security. Are you okay?"

"I mean, I think so," said Adria.

"I understand Megan was your roommate. I'm so sorry you had to find her like this."

"Do they know what happened?" Caroline asked.

"We found a note. Apparently she was struggling with severe depression."

"Wait, what do you mean you found a note?" Adria asked.

"Your roommate took her own life. We're convinced it was a suicide, but we can't seem to find her cell phone. Have you seen it?"

"No."

"Okay. If it turns up, let us know?" They nod and the officer walked away.

"What the hell is going on?" As they walked back to their dorm, Caroline deleted Adria's voicemail on Megan's phone. Adria noticed the door to their room was ajar.

"Someone's been in here," she said as she cautiously pushed open the door.

"Megan's tablet's gone."

"Along with her so-called suicide note."

"It just doesn't make any sense. First, the roommate we're not supposed to have might know about vampires, and then happens to be killed by a vampire, and now the school's covering it up? Seriously, who is this girl?"

At the Mikaelson Mansion, Emma was sitting on the back porch of the house when Hayley came out and joined her.

"I know you don't know me very well... but thanks. I appreciate what you did in there," said Hayley.

"Us girls have got to look out for each other."

"If you know Marcel has Elijah, why don't you just get him back yourself?"

"Because, if I cross Nik, there's a coffin downstairs with my name on it." Hayley eyed Emma for a moment, then reached down and retrieved something wrapped in cloth. She unfolded it and revealed the silver daggers. "Oh my god."

"I found them under your coffin. So, if a couple of antique steak knives were the only things stopping you from getting Elijah back, then here you go." Hayley offered the daggers to Emma, who took them in slight awe.

"I think I like you," Emma smirked as Hayley smiled back.

At Tulane, Caroline was in bed listening to Tyler's voicemail.

"Hey, Caroline. I've put a lot of thought into this, and decided to defer school for now. This werewolf pack I'm helping...they need me. I know it's lame to do this over the phone, but I figure this way it's harder for you to kill me. I'm really, really sorry, Care...but this is important." The message ended and Caroline hung up. Adria, awake, listened to Caroline start to cry.

"You okay?" Adria asked.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

"I'm sorry, Caroline."

"I'm really glad that you're here."

"I'm really glad you're here, too."

At a bar in the Quarter, Marcel brought a bottle of wine to a table and sat with Cami.

"I sent everyone home for the night. I am your humble host," said Marcel.

"Oh...okay. Extra points for flair."

"And the night's just started. What made you decide to come?"

"Everyone deserves a chance." Suddenly the doors of the restaurant swung wide open and Emma burst inside.

"You lied to me. Where's Elijah?" she demanded.

"Hello to you, too. Cami, Emma – Emma, Cami."

"I see you still have a thing for blondes." Emma grabbed Marcel by the neck and sped him across the room, slamming him against the wall. "Tell me where Elijah is."

"What the hell is going on?" Cami asked.

"Tell me where he is or I will kill you!"

"No, you won't. You care too much." Slowly, Emma backed off, releasing him.

"Perhaps you're right." After a moment's silence, Emma sped over to Cami and pinned her by the throat against the wall. "But I will kill her."

"Let her go. You won. I'll take you to see Elijah." Emma waited another moment, then released Cami, who gasped for air.

"What the hell are you people?" Cami asked as Marcel gently took her by the shoulders.

"Shh. It's okay," he compelled. "Go home, forget all this, and just know that I will make it up to you. I promise." Marcel then turned to Emma. "You wanna see Elijah? Fine. Follow me." Emma followed him to an attic. She saw Elijah's coffin and moved to enter the room, but couldn't. The room was magically spelled.

"Invite me in."

"Gotta ask the lady of the house. Davina, come on out, sweetheart. Invite her in."

"Come in," said the young witch standing by Marcel's side. Emma entered, strode over to Elijah's coffin and opened it to find Elijah inside. She grabbed the dagger and started to pull it out.

"I wouldn't do that," said Davina. Emma, magically compelled, shoved the dagger back in.

"Who the hell are you?" Emma asked.

"Davina. She's an Old One, isn't she?" the young witch asked Marcel.

"Yeah. Emma is an Original, which means she can't be killed."

"She doesn't seem very nice."

"She can be...but she hasn't been very nice to me tonight."

"Then I'm afraid it's time for you to leave." Without moving a muscle, Davina magically propelled Emma across the room, slamming her against walls several times before sending her through a door, which shut behind her. The following morning, Emma woke in a bed in the house Marcel stole from her.

"Welcome back, Emma. You were out for quite a while. And your phone has been ringing incessantly. Your husband."

"Where am I? How'd I get here?"

"You upset Davina. I'm glad you two finally got to meet. Now you know what you're dealing with."

"Is this my old room?"

"Oh, it's mine now. Just like this town is mine, Davina's mine, and Elijah is mine until I feel like giving him back. What was once yours, what was once Klaus' – it's now mine." He turned and walked toward the door, turning back to Emma to say one last thing. "And don't ever touch Cami again."

At the Mikaelson Mansion, Klaus entered Hayley's room while she was still sleeping. He watched her for a moment, then reached into her bag, withdrawing from it the vial of wolfsbane. He opened it and lifted it to his nose to smell when Hayley spoke, "I didn't use it."

"You're awake."

"I could barely sleep all night. This house is like a freaking swamp sauna." She sat up in bed while Klaus stared out the window.

"What stopped you? You could have been free of all of this...of me."

"Yeah, well...when I was fighting off those vampires, I – I realized I wasn't just protecting myself. Maybe it has to do with the fact that my birth parents gave me up, and my adopted parents kicked me out. All I know is push came to shove, and...I realized I wouldn't let anyone hurt it."

"I'm beginning to think we're a lot alike, you and I. We're both castoffs who have learned to fight when we're backed into a corner."

"Well, we're backed into a corner now."

"Ah, that we are. It's time to fight...little wolf."

"This whole thing with Marcel – the deal you have with the witches, trying to take him down, take what's his – Emma told me that you two once loved each other like family. What happened?"

"I made Marcel everything that he is. I treated him like a son. And when my father chased me and my family from New Orleans a hundred years ago, we believed Marcel was killed – we each mourned him, in our own way. Yet, when I returned, I found not only had he survived, he had thrived. Instead of seeking us out, instead of sticking together as one, he made a choice to take everything my family had built and make it his own. Now, he is living in our home, he is sleeping in our beds. That 'M' he stamps everywhere...it's not for 'Marcel'. It's for 'Mikaelson'. I want it all back, and if I have to push him out to get it, then that's exactly what I'll do. I'll have someone see to the air conditioning." Klaus left Hayley's room and hurried down the stairs, only to meet Emma as she entered the front door.

"You were right. The girl, Cami – she's the key. Marcel likes her, and because of that I got to see the secret weapon of his that you've been going on about."

"Well, don't stand on ceremony. What is it?"

"It's not a 'what', it's a 'who'. A girl, Davina. She can't be more than sixteen, and I have never felt power like that."

"A witch."

"She's not just any witch, she's something I've never seen before, something beyond powerful, and now because of you she has Elijah. Who knows what she could do to him."

"Where is she?" Emma stopped to think, but then looked confounded.

"That clever bitch," she whispered. "I don't know."

"What's wrong?"

"She wiped my memory of the location." Angry, Emma threw Klaus out the door. "Marcel possesses a weapon bigger and more powerful than an Original, and you handed Elijah to him! How many times will he forgive you? How long until his hope for your redemption finally dies?"

"I did what I had to do! Marcel took our home!" Klaus yelled, standing up from the floor.

"And our home is worthless without family. I am finding Elijah – whatever it takes. Are you going to help me?"

"Whatever it takes."

"Good. Because you aren't going to need to make anymore vampires." Emma snapped her fingers and quite a few vampires appeared on the grounds.

"These are Marcel's…"

"No, they're mine. My coven has infiltrated Marcel's ranks as nightwalkers. They occupy half of his forces. They take off their daylight rings when they're in the Quarter and they are completely loyal to me. You should thank Damon. It was his idea in 1912. Unfortunately, they haven't been able to penetrate his inner circle. He's paranoid, only accepts those vampires that he has personally turned. But this, Klaus…this is how we will win." Klaus smirked.

"You're bloody brilliant."

"You know your orders," Emma said to her vampires and they scattered into the wind just as Damon's car pulled up.

"There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you. Thank God you're safe." Anger boiling inside her, Emma punched him in the face. Rebekah grimaced.

"I taught her that," Klaus chuckled.

"You…you…oh, I could just strangle you!" Emma growled. "What the hell is going on!"

"Stefan is Silas' doppelganger." Klaus perked at the mention of Silas and doppelganger. Things were getting interesting.

"Damon, where is Stefan?"

"I don't know."

"How long have you known he's missing?" Damon looked away. "How could you not tell me something this important?"

"There were other things going on."

"Like what?"

"Protecting our daughter, finding my brother, and figuring out what the hell Silas wants with Katherine not to mention this business with Marcel."

"I just left. What the hell is wrong with you? Adria got in a fight! And you're playing white knight to Katherine, who's tried to kill me—repeatedly. Stefan's been—he's been suffering, for months, while I've been rolling around with you, a self-proclaimed serial killer. Oh, my God. Oh, my God."

"Emma. Let me explain."

"No! Not a word. Not one word," Emma whispered, hurt that Damon hadn't trusted her enough to tell her. She walked back into the house and slammed the door.

"God damnit," Damon growled as he fell on his back on the grass.

Meanwhile in Davina's room, Marcel visited his witch. Davina was drawing at an easel. She turned when Marcel drew closer.

"I'm sorry about that unpleasantness," he said.

"She doesn't scare me. None of them do."

"I didn't think they would, honey. But, the thing is, it seems like they're here to stay."

"They don't belong here."

"Might be kinda tough to convince them of that... which is why I need to ask you for a favor. I'm gonna need you to figure out how we kill an Original."

* * *

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	7. Mojo Fix

**Disclaimer: I only own Eliza, Emma, and Adria!**

* * *

At Tulane University, students laid flowers at a memorial for Megan. Adria entered her dorm room to find Caroline rifling through the contents of a cardboard box.

"Megan's memorial outside is growing by the minute," said Adria.

"Ugh, college kids are so dramatic. She was on campus for, like, one day. She couldn't have made that many friends."

"Caroline, she's dead. You can stop competing with her."

"Sorry, I'm in a mood."

"You talked to Tyler?"

"He's deferring from enrolling and deferring from returning my phone calls, so I'm deferring from having sex with him ever again."

"How's the snooping going?"

"Nothing."

"Well, I went by the hospital this morning—Megan's death certificate. It says she died of suicide. No mention of the gaping vampire-bites on her neck. So, whoever signed off on the cause of death was part of the cover-up—just like the Founder's Council Dad told me about in Mystic Falls." Adria handed Caroline the paperwork.

"Dr. Wesley Maxfield."

"A.K.A., our Applied Microbiology professor. I switched our classes around, so that we could—"

"Applied—what, what? Uh, Adria, we are supposed to be taking Intro to Communication. What happened to getting drunk and making bad decisions about boys? What happened to our fun freshman year at college? I am supposed to be a drama major!"

"You're not going to be an Anything major if we get exposed as vampires! We are still gonna have our fun year, Caroline, but we have to protect ourselves. The way Mom and Dad kept their secret in Mystic Falls was because they infiltrated the Founder's Council. So, bust out those alleged acting skills, and let's get on it, okay?" Adria smiled at her and finally Caroline relaxed, smiling back.

"You're so much like your Dad it's creepy at times," Caroline joked. The two girls laughed. Meanwhile, Hayley was sitting on the floor of the Mikaelson Mansion, holding a thick book in her hands, reading Elijah's journal.

_August 1359. I have noticed a difference in my family. Our bond strains beneath the pressure of our life as vampires. Each day removes them further from the humanity we once possessed. My sweet sister, Rebekah, has grown quite indifferent to brutality._ _However, the true problem remains my brother, Niklaus. He continues to hide his loneliness with cruelty. Still, I cling to the hope that I, as their eldest brother, can lead them down the correct path, a path charged with the power of a family united. For if I fail, our family's legacy will end in darkness._

"I cannot believe you disposed of those vampires without me. You know how I love to set things on fire," said Emma, sitting on the couch with Kol.

"Was I supposed to leave them in the front yard to rot? Besides, they were my responsibility. They attacked the helpless pregnant girl who's carrying my child."

"Oh, we are so moved by your newfound sense of fatherly duties towards the werewolf carrying your hybrid bun in her oven," said Rebekah sarcastically.

"The werewolf would like to know what the plan is," said Hayley entering the room.

"Well, that depends what plan you mean, love: My plan for global domination, or Emma's plan on how to deal with her _traitorous_ husband." Angry, Emma grabbed a pencil from the desk beside her and threw it in Klaus's direction. Klaus caught it easily before it could impale his face. "Still a touchy subject I see."

"I mean, the plan to rescue Elijah. You know, the good brother. The one who is now in the possession of your mortal enemy after you stabbed him in the back," Hayley interjected.

"In the front, if we're being specific."

"You said that you would get him back. So is there a plan, or what?"

"Okay. Well, firstly, Marcel is not my mortal enemy—he's my friend, albeit one who is unaware that I'm trying to sabotage his hold over the supernatural community of the French Quarter, but a friend nonetheless. And secondly, I daggered Elijah in order to gain Marcel's trust. If I had known he would place my brother in the hands of a particularly nasty teenaged witch, I certainly would have weighed my options a bit differently. And thirdly, Emma, please."

"And thirdly, the plan, as you have demanded, is for Nik to simply ask Marcel for Elijah back."

"That's...that's not the whole plan, is it?"

"Please," said Damon, walking into the room. "Of course not. You're talking about the master of diabolical schemes. You do have a back-up right, Nik?"

"Of course. That's Plan A. There's always a Plan B."

"And what's Plan B?" Hayley asked.

"War."

"Emma, Adria called me. She got kicked out of one of her classes. One she didn't sign up for granted." Emma raised a brow. "Supposedly, she and Caroline are investigating a creepy professor whose covering up a murder." Emma just stared at Damon in silence. "Oh, come on. Not with the silent treatment again."

"Nik, please tell, Damon, that since he doesn't think I should be included in things that relate to my family that I don't see what the point of this one-sided conversation is." And with a tight smile Emma left the house, slamming the door. Nik and Rebekah cringed at Emma's callousness.

"Buy her some flowers, mate. Girls love flowers. Oh and Emma says…" Damon slapped Nik on the back of his head.

"I'm not deaf! I'm going out!" Damon left out the back, slamming the door. Out on the streets of the French Quarter, Emma met with her daughter Adria for lunch.

"So…what happened today?" she asked Adria.

"You don't know? I figured Dad would have told you."

"We're currently in a fight. I'm not talking to him."

"You know. I told him this was going to blow up in his face."

"_You_ knew?"

"Before you get mad, I wanted to tell you, but Dad and I both agreed you had a lot on your plate."

"That doesn't mean I should have been kept out of the loop, Addy!"

"I know."

"Why'd you get into a fight in Seattle?" Adria's expression soured.

"I ran into my ex."

"Ah. Still nursing his wounds, metaphorically speaking?"

"Yeah. He was a jerk and I got upset and lost control a little." Emma nodded.

"Well, you do have my temper. What about this business at the university? What were you doing?"

"Our roommate was murdered last night by a vampire and everyone's covering it up."

"Could be Marcel's doing."

"I don't think so. This was weird. And this Maxfield is covering it up. I want to find out why and Megan she knew about vampires and was somehow paired with vampire roommates?"

"It does smell a bit."

"Exactly."

"Well, just be careful. The situation in the Quarter is volatile. We don't need to add anything to it if possible." Adria nodded in understanding.

"You know, I can understand why Dad kept everything from you. Maybe you should see it from his side."

"And what side would that be?"

"Every time there's a problem, you're the one who swoops in with a solution, you're the one who kicks ass."

"Language."

"Butt. The point is you kind of leave him in the dust. And I know you're older than him and more powerful and all that. But this is my uncle, Dad's brother. Maybe he just wants to fix it himself. Maybe you've wounded his pride one to many times."

"Are you taking a psychology class I don't know about?" Emma smirked, realizing Adria was completely right.

"No, but after nineteen years I think I know your patterns pretty well. You're both too stubborn to talk about it. You're both of the actions are louder than words philosophy."

"That's vampire philosophy, sweetheart. Do you have any more classes today?"

"No. After we got kicked out of Maxfield's class, Caroline decided to flirt up his research assistant. So maybe we'll hit gold there."

"Then let's spend the day together."

"Sure. What about you and Dad?"

"Don't worry. We'll patch things up. We always do."

At The Abattoir, Marcel's home which he stole from the Mikaelsons, Marcel was getting fitted for a suit, accompanied by his right hand man, Thierry.

"Damn, I do look good in a suit," said Marcel, looking at himself in a mirror. Thierry chuckled, then turned to the television, where photos of Tina McGreevy and Joshua Rosza, the tourists that Klaus turned, flashed on the screen.

"My guy at the docks is gonna come forward as an eyewitness, saying he saw those two drunkenly fall into the Mississippi. They'll be dredging for weeks. No one will come looking around here."

"That's good, considering one's dead in a dumpster behind the county morgue and the other one is a vampire now. Anything else?"

"One thing. I sent four nightwalkers to look into a werewolf sighting in the Quarter. I haven't heard from them since."

"That makes ten dead nightwalkers in the last week. You think the werewolves are back in town trying to start some trouble?"

"Look, I know you and Klaus are friends, but the fact is, since the Originals showed up—"

"Oh, come now, Thierry," said Klaus, walking into the room. "You're not still upset about that little, toxic werewolf bite I gave you, are you? I thought we were at bygones."

"I see you've given him free rein of your compound now, too," Thierry pouted.

"Yes. Well, seeing as my family and I lived here, built the place, in fact—"

"All right. Come on. You both know the drill," Marcel mediated. "Thierry's my guy, inner circle. Klaus is my old-time friend and sire. He's also a guest here. Peace, all right? All right. What you need, my brother?"

"I'm afraid Emma is insisting I demand Elijah's return. She's quite worked up about it."

"I'll say."

"We're not gonna have the complete Original set walking around town, are we? Half our guys think Emma killed the nightwalkers," said Thierry.

"Is that an accusation against an Original?" Klaus threatened.

"Eh." Klaus stormed over toward Theirry, who looked ready for a confrontation, but Marcel interceded.

"What did I say about peace?" Marcel glared at Thierry. He then turned to Klaus. "Come on. Walk with me." Klaus smiled smugly at Thierry as Marcel steered him out of the room. They walked out along the balcony of the building.

"Your inner circle man lacks a sense of humor."

"He's a little overprotective, but loyal to a fault. I saved his life back in the forties, found him dying of a war wound outside a VA hospital. He'd kill for me and die for me. Plus, that boy can play the trumpet like you would not believe. Maybe I'll see if he can play a little tonight at the party. You're coming, right?"

"How can I miss my chance to meet the city councilman as he accepts your gigantic charitable donation?"

"Oh, he's a schmuck, but he lets us do our thing in exchange for certain community services, like keeping our fangs out of the locals. Listen, about your brother...I would love to help you out, but Thierry is right. My guys are on edge. They see the Original family moving in, vampires dying, it makes them nervous. If I hand Elijah back now, it might give the wrong impression about who's really in charge here. You know what I mean?"

"You understand I had to ask." A few minutes later, Emma was walking through the Quarter with Adria, talking on her phone while Klaus was in the cellar of the Mikaelson Mansion.

"Nik, for the love of Mary Magdalene, how long does it take to ask a simple question?" Emma asked. Adria chucked at her mother's tone.

"Much longer than you'd think, considering the answer was, as expected, 'no'. Marcel's man, Thierry, is suspicious. He thinks you killed ten nightwalkers."

"Well, that's a lie. I only killed eight. Should I make Thierry the ninth?"

"Marcel is playing friendly. We can't kill the favorite son, or he'll catch onto us."

"So, war it is, then."

"Indeed. Do you know what to do with the witch?"

"I believe I do."

"Good. You manage Sophie Deveraux. I'll take care of the next step."

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	8. Raise The Dead

**Disclaimer: I only own Adria, Emma, and Eliza!**

* * *

In the cellar, Klaus turned to the vampire Joshua, who had been minding Klaus' vampire hostage.

"I ordered you to drain him of blood. What's taking so long?"

"Sorry. I'm not, like, medieval torture expert guy." Klaus grabbed a pitchfork and impaled the vampire with it. "What did he do to you, anyway?"

"It's not about what he did. It's about what he's going to do when we're done here, which is whatever I want him to, just like you. For example, drive this through his torso." Klaus, having removed the pitchfork from the vampire, compelled Joshua and handed the weapon to him. Joshua immediately obeyed.

"That is crazy. I didn't want to do it, but I did it anyway."

"It's called mind compulsion. Vampires can compel humans. Originals, like my siblings and I, can also compel vampires, and no one can compel Originals. You following?" Joshua nodded. "Good. That is how a brand-new nightwalker such as yourself is here doing my bidding with no one the wiser."

"But I never had my guts drained out of me."

"Yes. That, young Joshua, is because I got to you before you had even a drop of herbal vervain in your system. You see, it prevents compulsion. Marcel has had his whole crew taking it since I returned to town, and that is why our friend here needs to be bled dry of it, so I can compel him to follow my every command. And while Emma's army is quite useful, Marcel won't bring them into his inner circle as they weren't turned by his blood. With my brother currently in captivity awaiting rescue, we can't afford to be gentle about it, can we?" Klaus took back the pitchfork and ran it into the vampire, twisting it in.

At Jardin Gris, Emma and Adria were waiting outside the shop and turned to greet Sophie, who is approached on the sidewalk.

"Who is this?" Sophie asked Emma.

"My daughter, Adria."

"A pleasure," Adria returned.

"I'm glad you could make it, Sophie. Elijah only lies daggered and rotting whilst you dilly-dally," Emma retorted.

"You're lucky I came at all. What do you want?"

"Hayley was attacked last night by Marcel's crew because somebody told him there was a werewolf in the Quarter. She only made one stop. Whoever saw her here ratted her out. Watch and learn." Emma walked into the shop with Adria and Sophie following her. Inside the shop, Katie, a witch, emerged from a back room with a box and saw Sophie.

"Hey, Soph."

"Hey, Katie." Katie then saw Emma and Adria. Adria was touching an item hanging in the shop.

"That's filled with marigold—great for attracting the opposite sex. It would look awesome on you."

"I very seriously doubt that," Adria replied. Emma inwardly sighed. Like her mother, Adria had also adopted a terrible misfortune with men…mostly because Damon scared them off.

"Do you have any others, one with, say—I don't know—wolfsbane, perhaps?" Emma asked.

"Wolfsbane? Why would you want that?" Emma sped toward Katie and held her up by the neck.

"Please no not play dumb with me. I haven't had sex in two days. My patience is running thin." Emma slammed the witch on a table.

"Emma!" Sophie yelled.

"I just sold a werewolf some herbs. That's all."

"Are you lying to me, Katie? I suggest you answer my question honestly."

"Sophie," Katie choked.

"Just answer the question, Katie, please."

"Yes. I told someone, but you don't understand. I—I love him."

"Oh God," Adria groaned. Emma threw Katie down onto the floor violently. She placed the heel of her stiletto directly over Katie's throat threateningly.

"And tell me, who is this vampire Romeo of yours? Shall I count to three?" Emma asked. After finding out some interesting information, Emma called Nik.

"Well?" he answered.

"You were right about the traitor. Luckily, she's just a kid and she doesn't know anything about us and what we're up to. Do you want to hear the part that's gonna please you the most?"

"Oh, do tell."

"Can I tell him, Mom? Can I? Please," Adria begged, her eyes glowing. Emma found it impossible to say no.

"Hold on. Adria wants to tell you."

"Hey, Uncle Nik," Adria greeted over the phone.

"Well, what's got you so excited?" Nik asked mirthfully.

"She's in love with someone in Marcel's inner circle. Guess who it is."

"Right-hand-man type, favors silly caps?"

"Two points for you. Thierry is fraternizing with the enemy."

"Well, that means he just unwittingly became the key to our entire plan."

"I told you you'd be pleased," Emma replied, taking back the phone.

"Oh, to be young and in love in a city where witches and vampires are at war. How very tragic."

Later at the Mikaelson Mansion, Hayley eavesdropped from the hallway. Sophie, Rebekah, Adria, and Klaus were arguing behind a closed door.

"Are you out of your mind? No way," said Sophie.

"It's very simple. We need you to perform a teeny, tiny locator spell to help us find my uncle," Adria explained.

"Witches who practice magic in this town get caught, and they get killed."

"Yes, about that. It seems you left out a crucial detail when we made our deal—Marcel's secret weapon, the way he knows when a witch is using magic," Klaus began.

"Girl about yay high, cute as a button, anger issues," Emma added.

"Davina?" Sophie asked in shock. "Where have you seen her?"

"I don't know. The little brat erased my memory right after she threw me out a window with her bloody mind."

"Let me cut to the chase. Davina has Elijah. You witches, I assume, want to get Davina away from Marcel. We don't know where she is. Ergo, we need magic," said Klaus.

"What about you two? You're both vampire-witches."

"And unfortunately locator spells aren't in our repertoire of tricks," Adria countered.

"Davina would sense it."

"Unless, of course, another witch—say, a traitor to the cause, Katie for example—was to perform much more powerful magic at the same time," said Emma. "That would create a smokescreen, concealing your very small spell from Davina."

"Katie doesn't deserve to die." Klaus angrily slammed his hands on a table and stood up.

"Sophie Deveraux. You're in no position to be so principled. You can't win a war without a few strategic losses, no matter how regrettable they may be. How many times have the vampires been one step ahead, known something they shouldn't? Your sister, executed in the public square for practicing magic, who knew she'd be caught? Did she even attempt to flee?"

"She was caught hiding in a cargo hold of a freighter before it set sail down the Mississippi."

"And who, pray tell, of Marcel's valued inner circle manages his business at the docks?"

"Katie's boyfriend, Thierry."

Later in the day, Thierry was playing his trumpet in the courtyard of The Abattoir. Klaus and Marcel watched from the balcony.

"You're right. He's good," said Klaus.

"Right? Music man, I call him. Ladies love him, but he's spoken for. He knocks around with this pretty little witch, says he loves her, but I don't know."

"Your brightest soldier is fraternizing with your enemy, and you don't care?"

"Well, of course I care, but Thierry is a grown man. He makes his own choices, and I get some good intel. Besides, he's not gonna do anything to jeopardize what we're doing here. I mean, check this out—a vampire hosting a ritzy charity event. We have a community here. No one's gonna mess that up."

"Still...you don't want the witches to get too bold, given that a witch's tip about a werewolf in town led to the disappearance of your nightwalkers. I'm sure you've considered the possibility that it could've been a trap."

"Well, maybe I'll send a little message. Thierry! Take a team of nightwalkers to the Cauldron tonight, do a little rousting...Oh, and Thierry? Make it nasty."

Meanwhile at Rousseau's, Emma was talking to Cami at the bar.

"And so then I moved back here to be closer to my family because—let's face it—that's important, right, Camille?"

"Cami. I have to change this name tag. Drunk guys keep hitting on me in French. You sure you haven't been in here before? Your face looks so familiar."

"You must have seen me out and about. Aren't you dating Marcel Gerard? He's a pal of mine...sort of. I heard he had a crush on the blonde bartender at Rousseau's."

"I would hardly call it dating. He's wooing me...sort of. I don't know. I mean, he's very charming, which probably means I should run for the hills."

"I like you, Cami. Most girls have the unfortunate tendency of being whiny little twits."

"Thanks...I think."

"Hey, I'm supposed to go to this posh charity thing thrown by this philanthropist tonight. He's a bit of a Gatsby, throws a mean party. Any interest?" Cami smiled noncommittally, shrugging. Later in the night, Klaus was sitting at a desk, perusing some papers when his phone started buzzing. He answered it.

"Emma."

"Well, I believe I've made certain Marcel will be properly distracted tonight."

"Dare I ask?"

"Let's just say his attention will not be on us. I did my bit. What are you doing to ensure Elijah's safe return?"

"Currently, I'm preparing insurance against the tender-hearted."

"Meaning?"

"We need proper motivation for Katie to cast a powerful spell tonight. I'm creating that motivation. Marcel has ordered a rousting of the witches. And I, in turn, have arranged for things to go tragically wrong. I compelled one of Marcel's vampires to attack Katie and I'm sure her white knight, Thierry, will come to save the day. Marcel may not be concerned with Thierry's romantic entanglements...but there are other crimes which he'll be less inclined to so easily forgive...killing a vampire, for example. That would be unforgivable. If Katie hopes to save her one true love from Marcel's punishment, well, a rescue mission like that will require something positively magical. But then...what's worth dying for, if not love?"

That evening, Adria and Emma arrived at Marcel's Masquerade Gala on Klaus' arms while Kol arrived with Rebekah. They atmosphere was dark, wild. Acrobats performed, dancers held exotic animals, and confetti fell, glittering upon the party guests.

"Well, this certainly is a fitting backdrop for tonight's events, I must say," said Klaus. Cami then entered the party, wearing white angel's wings and a vintage white beaded dress. Emma looked pleased, but Klaus' smile faded.

"What's she doing here?" he asked.

"What better way to distract Marcel than to put his human in a room chock full of vampires?" Emma crossed the courtyard to greet Cami.

"Hello, darling. You look precious." Marcel noticed Cami's arrival from a balcony above.

"Emma is correct. You do look stunning," said Klaus, walking up to her with Adria.

"You clean up pretty well yourself."

"Well, don't be fooled, love. I'm the devil in disguise."

"You three chit-chat. I need booze." Emma then approached the bar. "Scotch, please."

"You trying to be cute, inviting her here?" Marcel asked as he approached Emma.

"I think she's darling. I can tell you fancy her pure heart. Perhaps I'll feed it to you."

"Hmm. Jealousy looks good on you. Who's the other girl with Klaus? I've never seen her before."

"My daughter."

"Your daughter?"

"Adria."

"A beautiful name."

"Damon picked it."

Across the courtyard, Cami, Klaus, and Adria talked, watching Emma and Marcel.

"I'm sensing they're a thing," said Cami.

"I wouldn't worry about it. Ancient history," said Klaus.

"Besides, look who just entered the room," Adria added. As Emma continued prodding Marcel, she noticed Damon over Marcel's shoulder.

"What?" Marcel asked, seeing her slight smile.

"Excuse me." She crashed into Damon, her heart pounding, and kissed him. Damon returned the kiss wholeheartedly.

"Who is that?" Cami asked.

"Damon Salvatore," Klaus smirked. "Emma's husband."

"And my dad. He always knows how to make an entrance," Adria added.

"I'm sorry," Emma whispered to Damon. "I'm so sorry."

"What could you possibly be sorry for?" he asked, stroking her cheek.

"I've been such a stubborn fool that I couldn't even see it. See what you were trying to do. I have my mission and you have yours. I shouldn't have gotten mad at you like that when you were just trying to keep me focused. I took it too far."

"You were right in one respect. I should have at least told you. Does this mean I'm forgiven?"

"There's nothing to forgive. I want you to save your brother. I want you to be the one to save him." Emma then looked down.

"But?"

"Can I tag along? Just a little bit? I won't get in the way. I promise. I'll do whatever you want to do."

"You're acting very strange, love."

"It's just…I know I can take the bull by the horns a little. I don't mean to overshadow you and I kind of forget you have that whole 1864 male ego etched into you."

"You're crazy," Damon chuckled, "But I love you for it."

"I love you too."

"Want to get out of here and make up for lost time?"

"I wish I could, but Klaus and I are in the middle of an operation. You want to help?"

"Gladly. You know, Marcel hasn't taken his eyes off us. How about we make him insanely jealous of what he can't have?" He dipped Emma and she giggled.

"I do love it when you're overprotective."

"So where you and he…"

"Enough about Marcel. I just want to be right here with you." Damon kissed her amd as they dance, Emma looked over Damon's shoulder to see Marcel. The man was absolutely seething at Emma's happiness.

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	9. Waiting Game

**Disclaimer: I only own Adria, Emma, and Eliza!**

* * *

"Hey, Addy," said Damon, hugging his daughter, after he and Emma left the dance floor..

"You really are a hideously evil little thing, aren't you?" Klaus asked Emma as he watched Cami and Marcel dance.

"Nonsense. They're perfect for each other. You wanted Marcel distracted—voilà." They then watched as Diego walked to Marcel and whispered something in his ear. "And I believe that's our cue to leave." Adria and Damon left with Emma. Marcel saw Thierry and looked at him, barely containing his anger. Klaus smiled at the exchange between Marcel and Thierry. Cami's look of apprehension remained as Klaus joined her.

"Are you all right, love?"

"He's got a temper, doesn't he? I guess this is the moment I remember I know better." She walked away. Evan, one of Emma's vampires, walked up to Klaus, standing slightly behind him. Klaus reached into his coat's inner pocket, withdrew a folded piece of paper and handed it to Evan, who pocketed it and walked away. Klaus watched the balcony as Evan appeared next to Marcel and handed him the paper.

"We found this at his girl's place." Marcel looked at it. It appeared to be a spell written out.

"Still my friend, huh? That's funny because it looks to me like that little witch of yours got her hands on a spell that I keep locked away."

"Marcel, I have never seen that."

"Shut up. I see on your hand, you still have the daylight ring I gave you. So what would you need with the recipe for making new ones? Unless maybe you and Katie were gonna go off and start a little kingdom of your own?"

"Marcel, no."

"Here's a lesson in friendship. Friends don't lie to me, they don't break my rules, and they do not steal what is mine. For the crime of murdering one of his own, I sentence Thierry Vanchure to 100 years in the Garden."

"And it begins," Klaus smiled. At the cemetery, Emma, Damon, and Adria arrived to see Sophie setting up a spell.

"You're doing the right thing. It's the only way to find Elijah," said Emma.

"I'm doing what I have to do," said Sophie before she began chanting. Meanwhile, Theirry was led out of the party and onto the street where a small crowd of vampires watch Katie approach from down the street, chanting. Klaus watched the events unfold from a window above.

"Like clockwork," Kol murmured, approaching Klaus from behind. Katie began to incapacitate the vampires, but before she could take Marcel, Klaus snapped Katie's neck. Sophie stopped her spell at the cemetery.

"Something's wrong. Katie's magic stopped. I can keep going."

"You can't. She'll sense it," said Adria.

"No. I can find Davina. I just need another moment." Damon grabbed the piece of paper Sophie was using and cast it aside.

"You may be willing to die to get your witch back, but Hayley and the baby will die with you," said Damon.

"Elijah will never forgive us, and rescuing him will be for nothing. It's over." Angry, Emma threw her purse into a tombstone. "We failed," Emma sighed before walking away. Adria and Damon looked at each other, knowing Emma needed time to process everything that happened. At The Abattoir, the party was over and the courtyard is deserted. Klaus and Marcel stood alone on a balcony and clinked their drinks against each other.

"How much did Cami see?" Marcel asked.

"She just saw an argument, mate. It's nothing you can't fix. You really like her, don't you?"

"I like that she's not a part of any of this. Sometimes it's good to see the world the way the humans do."

"I am sorry about Thierry, you know? I can tell he was a good friend."

"I made him what he was. Obviously, my trust was misplaced."

"Doesn't make it easier."

"You saved me tonight. I guess I owe you one. You asked for your brother back. Seems like the least I can do."

After Klaus compelled Cami to forget about Marcel's encounter with Theirry, he returned home to find a very upset Emma, playing a scattering of notes on the piano lazily.

"Well, tonight was an epic failure," she mumbled.

"On the contrary. Tonight was a masterpiece."

"Are you mad? Katie died before Sophie could complete the spell."

"Oh, I'm well aware. I killed Katie."

"You what?"

"There's no way our little suicide witch wasn't gonna try and take out Marcel with her. I saved his life, and in doing so, I now have him exactly where I want him."

"Sophie trusted you. I trusted you."

"Wake up, Emma! The witches are on no one's side but their own. This girl, Davina? That's all they want, and when they have her, what do you think happens then, a truce? Of course not. They will use Davina's power against all of us."

"Even if you're right, the plan was to find Elijah, and you've failed us."

"You always did lack faith. By protecting Marcel, I've cemented his trust, so much so that he's agreed to return Elijah to us. And when the time is right, when he has told me everything I need to know about Davina, I will have her for myself."

"I have all the faith in the world that you'll get what you want, Nik. You always do, no matter what it costs the rest of us." Emma left the house and Klaus passed the office doorway to see Hayley typing on a laptop at a desk.

"I thought you might like to know, Elijah is returning to us."

"Congratulations. I guess being diabolical has its perks."

"You hardly know him, and yet you miss him. What is it about my brother that always inspires such instant admiration?"

"He was kind to me. Hey, I learned something today. I think it's a girl." Klaus paused in the doorway, but didn't turn round. He smiled slowly. In the French Quarter, Emma walked around, still wearing her gown, but her hair slightly disheveled. She saw Marcel and turned the other way, but ran into him again.

"You're following me." He walked toward her, backing her up against a storefront.

"Maybe you're just in my way." He walked away and Emma let out a breath, her eyes closing and a single tear falling down her cheek. When Emma returned to the mansion, she walked around the back, took off her shoes and sat by the pool's edge, letting her feet drip into the cool water. She removed the stopper on a bottle of bourbon she had swiped from a convenience store and took a long swig.

"I haven't seen you this on edge in a while," Damon said from the back door, still wearing his dress pants and shirt, his tie absent.

"I don't want to talk about it." Damon noticed her eyes were red-rimmed.

"Okay, but you could at least share. I even brought my own glass." Emma chuckled. He sat down by the pool, dipping his feet in the water, the cuff of his designer pants getting a bit wet. "I took Adria back to her dorm." Emma nodded before she took another swig. "You know I don't like seeing you so upset. Whatever it is, you can tell me. I won't judge you. You know that."

"I loved him. Marcel."

"I figured as much. What happened?"

"It wasn't any one thing. I suppose it was a combination. Elijah knew I shared an affection for him. He was a bit jealous, but not like Nik. When he found out, I thought he was going to kill Marcel. He wasn't a vampire at the time. But…he snapped my neck and locked me up in the basement. He drained a bit of my blood to weaken me."

"Are you serious?"

"He thought I was taking his precious Marcel from him. He took Marcel to the basement where I was and told him to choose. He could choose me and remain human or he could choose to never speak to me again and Nik would turn him. He chose the latter and broke my heart in the process. He left me down there to rot for a hundred years. In that time, Nik turned Marcel with his and my blood. Every few decades, Elijah would come to feed me a bit of blood, but it wasn't enough to sustain me. Eliza was in Andalucia. She realized something was wrong after she stopped receiving letters from me and eventually broke me out. I left the Original Family before Mikael chased them out of town. I arrived in Mystic Falls. I left myself completely open to one man only for him to betray me. It hurt me so much, Damon, that I…"

"You wanted to die."

"I had been starved for one hundred years and the man I loved did nothing about it. I had nothing to live for. I tried to turn my emotions off. I ripped through a few towns before it all came back. I went to Mystic Falls, where it all began, wanting to end it all. You saved me from that fate. But Marcel…he started it all." Fiercely, Damon hugged her.

"I'm so sorry."

"That's not the worst of it. I ran into him tonight and he said the same words to me that he did in that cellar. I had asked him why, why betray me? He said 'because you're in my way.' He didn't care about me. He used me to get closer to Nik. He said those same words to me tonight. I want to make him suffer, Damon,…like I suffered…so badly," Emma choked out. "I want to hurt him how he hurt me. And it's not because I'm still in love with him. I'm over him, I promise."

"Shh, shh. You don't have to explain to me." Damon kissed her forehead. "And if you like, I'll be the first one to drive a hot poker through his chest." Emma laughed.

"I'm sorry. I know you probably don't want to know about my sordid past with men."

"You have been wronged by many people." He stroked her cheek. "My beautiful Emmalyne. I won't stand for anyone to make you cry, no matter how old or powerful they are. You said you have your mission and I have mine. That's not right. It's _our_ mission. Together, forever and always." Emma nodded as she leaned her forehead against his. "Rebekah told me you've been worried about Stefan, that you had a pit in your stomach. Describe it. Tell me about it."

"What? I—no, I can't..." Stefan was still a sore subject.

"Yes, you can. Describe it to me."

"It's...it's like a chill, but I can't explain it...it's like I can feel him. He's trying to reach out to me, but I don't know where he is, and I can't understand what he's trying to say. All I know is that he's scared, and he's lonely, and he's in a lot of pain. We have to find him."

"We will. I swear." He kissed the top of her head and they hugged each other, their relationship slowly mending.

The following morning, Emma and Damon were in the kitchen, fixing breakfast before they stopped in to Seattle via teleportation crystal.

"Rebekah's going to take over while we look for Stefan," said Emma.

"Yeah, well…" Damon pulled a ring out of his pocket.

"That's Stefan's daylight ring."

"Snagged it from Silas the other day. And, for the record, I am secure enough in our relationship that you having psychic dreams about my brother does not bother me...but it still sucks." They kissed.

"I love you. We're gonna save Stefan, and I'm still gonna love you, okay?" They kissed for several moments until Damon's phone rang. Letting out a small groan, Emma separated from him so he could answer it.

"Yeah?" Damon asked irritably.

"We found something," said Veronica. A few minutes later, Damon and Emma had teleported to Veronica's location. They approached a safe, washed up onto land.

"We didn't find anything in the river, but one of my guys found this a few miles away. Didn't open it. If Stefan's been in there for three months...chances are, he's hungry." Damon lifted the top of the safe open, and they saw a bloody corpse inside.

"Oh, my God," Emma groaned at the rank smell. "That's not Stefan."

"Well, you were right. He was hungry. I bet he still is," Damon murmured. "We've got to find him."

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	10. Hello Lover

**Disclaimer: I only own Emma, Eliza, and Adria!**

* * *

Emma woke up with a gasp from a terrible dream where she'd witnessed Stefan burning in the sun. A few days had passed since Damon and Emma's trip back to Seattle. They had tracked Stefan all the way from the west coast to New Orleans. Emma was quite impressed by the distance Stefan had traveled in his condition through the night. Knowing Stefan was some where in the vicinity of New Orleans, Damon and Emma had returned to the mansion to recover and continue the search in the morning. Emma took several deep breaths while Damon groaned and stretched in the blood red sheets.

"You must have restless sleep syndrome or something. It's like sleeping with a tornado," he mumbled. Emma closed her eyes as she ran her hand through her wavy brown locks. She took a few more deep breaths. Damon looked at her and saw she was worried. He sat up and stroked her arm. "Hey. We were up all night. You're exhausted. Come back to sleep."

"I had a dream about Stefan."

"Oh."

"It was more than just a pit in my stomach this time, though. It was real. It was like I was there with him."

"I know I said it didn't bother me that you have some psychic connection to my brother, but I don't need a play-by-play, Emma." He plopped back down onto the bed.

"You're right. It's weird. Sorry." She laid down her side, facing Damon. Sighing, Damon laid on his side, facing Emma.

"Fine. Tell me. I'm sure whatever's in my imagination is ten times worse than what's going on in your subconscious."

"It was just so vivid. I saw Stefan walking out of this bar. It had a red awning and this broken neon sign, and he was screaming in pain."

"Well, should I go check in the attic, see if there's a crystal ball? Maybe you can conjure up an address."

"Route 90. Joe's Bar," said Katherine from the hallway. Emma and Damon were both surprised to see Katherine in the lion's den so to speak. "Kol let me in. And it's a good thing I'm here because I think I had the exact same dream." Emma and Katherine exchanged looks. Damon groaned and buried his face in his pillow. A few minutes later, Emma was downstairs, dressed and writing in a notebook. She paused in her writing to pick up Stefan's daylight ring and look at it pensively. Damon then entered the room.

"So I've found nine bars along Route 90, and none of them are called 'Joe's,'" he said.

"I had a feeling that there was something wrong all summer, and I ignored it. But I was right, Stefan was in a safe, and probably killed whoever it was that found him. I know it sounds crazy, that I'm following some psychic dream, but it's the only lead that we have."

"It doesn't sound crazy—it is crazy." Emma shot him a look. "But I'm open-minded."

"Shotgun," said Katherine, joining them. Emma glared at her descendant. "What? I get carsick in the back seat. Another charming, human side effect you stuck me with."

"Please tell me that she's not coming," Emma grit out, angry that Damon had told Katherine where they were staying.

"Trust me, I have no interest in Katherine's well-being, but for some reason Silas wants her real bad, and if Silas wants her, I want her more," Damon argued.

"Can't we just stash her in the cellar? Or maybe a deep, dark well with a pair of water wings?"

"Do you really think that I wanna take a road trip with you?" Katherine asked Emma. "Just remember, your husband wouldn't have to play bodyguard if you hadn't shoved that cure down my throat."

"You were trying to kill me!"

"I will admit, though, I take great pleasure knowing that you wasted your one shot at a human life on me."

"All right, play nice! Or I'm gonna revisit the deep dark well idea," Damon interceded before Emma resorted to violence.

"I wanna find Stefan just as much as you do, and not just because I don't wanna be a pawn that you can trade off for his life. I care about him—I always have." Emma tried to withhold a laugh, but wasn't very successful. "And since we've been having the same dream...makes me think you care about him just as much."

"Okay, train's leaving the station. Choo-choo!" Damon interrupted, growing uncomfortable.

Meanwhile in a cabin in the bayou, Stefan woke up to find a woman staring at him. He sat up quickly.

"I don't want to hurt you, so get away from me before I rip your throat out."

"Hello to you, too. I brought dinner." The women held out a blood bag. Stefan hesitated for a moment, then grabbed the blood bag savagely and started to suck it down. "A vampire doppelgänger who's burdened by a conscience. Now I've seen everything."

"You saved me from burning to death outside that bar this morning, didn't you?"

"And I pulled you from Puget Sound before that. That is, I figured out where you were and told a friend I met in town to pull your lock box from the water. You thanked him...by biting off his head."

"How do you know I'm a doppelgänger?"

"Because I've seen your face before on someone who wasn't you."

"Who are you?"

"How much do you know about Silas?"

"I know that he's a bloodthirsty immortal who's killed more people than I can count, and that was before he stole my identity, locked me up in a safe, and dropped me in the bottom of Puget Sound."

"You made it through."

"Barely. I came very close to flipping off my humanity switch, but I didn't because I knew if I ever got out, I wanted to be myself when I killed him."

"Strong words."

"He's a monster, and I'm going after him."

"Except you'll burn to death in the sun without your daylight ring. Silas wasn't always a monster. He used to be a simple man in love with a simple girl...his soul mate. She was his one true love. Heh. You know how that goes. They thought their love would last forever."

"How do you know all of this?"

"Because I was there, in his arms."

"You're telling me that you were Silas' one true love?"

"I would have done anything for him."

"That's impossible. How are you here right now?"

"Love bends the rules of possible."

"Yeah, look. I know the story. Everything was great for Silas until some witch named Qetsiyah or whatever came by and screwed him over, right?"

"Wrong. You don't know the story. Silas convinced Qetsiyah that he loved her so she would make the immortality spell, but when she found out that he was just using her, she dumped him in a tomb with a cure, hoping he would take it and die, because she had created a supernatural limbo to trap his soul."

"Like any other sane, rational, well-adjusted woman would do."

"Which catches us up to today. Now Silas wants to destroy that supernatural limbo. Once the Other Side is gone, he can take the cure, become mortal and die, and finally pass on and find peace."

"Look, if you really are Silas' one true love and you're not dead, then why don't you just do us all a favor and run off into the sunset together?"

"Silas was my true love. I never said that I was his. I'm Qetsiyah, that sane, rational, well-adjusted woman you seem to know so much about," Qetsiyah drawled as she dragged a finger along the wall, leaving a line of blue flames in its wake, which lead to the fireplace, igniting it. "Clearly you've heard the man's version of the story, the one where I'm a back-stabbing lunatic who ruined everything for Silas, a raging bitch-witch whose obsession with vengeance created a whole new dimension of suffering in the afterlife."

"What are you doing here? I thought you were dead and on the Other Side."

"I was—for 2,000 years. But I came back... for you."

On Route 90, Damon was driving his car with Emma in the passenger seat and Katherine in the back.

"You sure you know what you're looking for? Last bar had a red awning and a neon sign," said Damon.

"I'll know when I see it," Emma replied.

"Me too," said Katherine, popping her head out between the front seats.

"Didn't ask you," Damon snapped.

"I'm just trying to make conversation. Anything to drown out the sound of eggshells breaking. So, Emma, I couldn't help but overhear. You've been dreaming about Stefan all summer? That must be really stressful on your relationship, especially when you're having those kinds of dreams lying in bed next to his brother."

"They weren't dreams. It was just a bad feeling, like something wasn't right with him."

"Oh, no, yeah, sure. I totally get it. There's a connection between you two. Maybe deep down you know that he's your one true love."

"Ignore her," said Damon. "As soon as the vervain's out of her system, we'll compel her and we'll put her on mute."

"Or maybe Stefan's been trying to reach out to you all summer, but you've been too distracted with Damon to help him so he reached out to the person that he trusts—me." Emma and Damon looked at each other and slightly shook their heads at Katherine's antics. "Nah. You're probably right. Emma and I had the exact same dream on the exact same night. Why would that mean something?" Neither Damon nor Emma responded.

At the cabin, Stefan was rifling through a bag when Tess reentered the cabin.

"Do you have a, uh, cell phone? I have to make a phone call."

"There's no cell reception out here in the bayou. And remember, I made it safe for you in here, but I wouldn't go outside if I were you."

"Well, no offense, Qetsiyah. I'm having a bit of a hard time believing what you're saying."

"Qetsiyah sounds so... ancient time-y, don't you think? How about Tessa? It's a little different, but not so different you wouldn't find it on one of those souvenir keychains."

"So, that's why you rejoined the land of the living...souvenir keychains?"

"I'm here because some powerful vampire-witch died. I saw an opportunity to make myself a living, breathing mortal by using her power, and I thought, 'Why not?' My hunters have failed in their task to kill Silas. I figured it was time to handle things in person."

"Well, 2,000 years is a hell of a long time to hold a grudge."

"You have clearly never been left at the altar. Like a lovesick idiot, I created an entire garden for our wedding, and I made a spell that would keep us alive forever, an immortality spell so we would never have to part. Silas and I were going to drink the immortality elixir as part of our wedding ceremony, but then everything around me started to die...my wedding flower, the garden trellis, our harvest. And then I realized why. Silas had already used the immortality spell. He was already drinking the elixir somewhere else. He took what he wanted, and then the bastard abandoned me. So, call me a woman scorned or a vindictive bitch or whatever label suits your story, but I thought I was his one true love, and he ripped my heart out."

"I'm sorry."

"I deserved a chance to look him in the eye and make him understand how much he hurt me. So, I found him in the wilderness with the woman he gave my immortality to, the woman he chose over me...and just when I thought his betrayal couldn't cut any deeper, I learned that his actual true love was someone very close to me...my handmaiden. You're quite familiar with her doppelgangers. Katherine and Emma."

"So, Silas was the first version of me, and your friend was the first version of Emma?"

"Amara was hardly a friend. When they drank the immortality elixir, they violated the natural law that all living things must die, so Nature found a balance by creating mortal shadow selves."

"Doppelgängers."

"Like you, and Katherine, and Emma, all caused by the ripple effect from Silas and Amara's sin." Tessa, who had been busy arranging something over the fire, placed her metal bracelet in a pot over the flames. It immediately began to melt.

"You want to tell me what the hell you've been doing this whole time?"

"Silas stole your daylight ring. You're going to need a new one. When this is ready, I need your help to take down Silas once and for all."

An hour or so later, Damon pulled his car into the parking lot at Joe's Bar. He and Emma quietly got out of the car. Katherine was asleep.

"Are we really just gonna leave her in the car?" Emma asked.

"The only time she shuts up is when she's sleeping, and I didn't want to disturb our peace and quiet." Emma stopped walking toward the entrance and Damon turned back toward his wife. "I thought you said this was the one."

"It is. It looks exactly like it did in the dream. Isn't that a little freaky?"

"Yeah. It's a lot of freaky. Let's go see if Stefan's inside." They walked inside and saw a bartender with a bandage on her neck.

"Can I get you something?"

"Yeah, sure," said Damon before he compelled the woman. "Why don't you tell me what happened to your neck?"

"Some sicko attacked me, bit me, told me to run, so I did, and when I looked back, he was on fire."

"The sun must have come up. He doesn't have his daylight ring," said Emma to Damon.

"And then what happened?" Damon asked the bartender.

"Some woman shoved him into a truck, drove away."

"Did you know this woman?"

"No. She was driving Cam Peterson's truck. He lives about 10 miles down that dirt road out back. Here. Look like you could use one of these." She poured him a shot.

"Hmm. I could. Thank you." He threw it back, swallowing. Suddenly, he started coughing, his mouth and throat sizzling. "Vervain."

"What did you do?" Emma demanded. A woman, Nadia, entered from the back room and raised a gun pointed at Damon and Emma.

"I told her to pour him a drink or I'd kill her."

"Who the hell are you?" Damon asked. Katherine then entered the bar, not realizing what's going on until it was too late and Nadia saw her.

"Which one of you is Katherine Pierce?"

"She is," said Katherine, pointing to Emma.

"Katherine is a compulsive liar...but I need her alive." Emma sped toward Nadia, threw her against a table.

"Katherine, run!" she yelled.

"You really do look exactly alike," said Nadia, veins appearing around her eyes. She straightened up and threw Emma against the wall with vampire strength, surprising the old vampire. She then sped out of the building. Damon helped Emma up.

"Wonderful. Now we've got a vampire bounty hunter to deal with. Let me guess: Euro-bitch was not part of the dream?" Damon asked.

"I've never seen her before," Emma panted.

"Yeah. Well, whoever she was, she wants Katherine, which means she's probably a Silas spy."

"I'll go chase after her. You find Stefan."

"Wait, what? No. She almost killed you." Damon grabbed Emma by the arm before she could walk away.

"We don't have time for a detour. Damon, Stefan's hurt. Find him."

"Wait. No. Stop. Just wait. Any sign of trouble, you let her go, do you understand me? I don't care how bad Silas wants Katherine. She's not worth the hair on your head. You got me?" Emma smiled and nodded. "Okay? Kiss me." He drew her in for a passionate kiss. "Go." She kissed Damon again before leaving and he watched as she walked away before going on his own mission.

* * *

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	11. Satellite Call

**Disclaimer: I only own Emma, Eliza, and Adria!**

* * *

In the bayou, Katherine was running through the woods, stumbling through the overgrown plants until she came to a stop, crouching and looking over her shoulder. Suddenly, someone grabbed her and she spun around, standing up to find Emma. She sighed in relief.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm really glad it's you. My leg is cramping and I'm freezing."

"Let's go before she doubles back."

"Why didn't you kill me?"

"If Silas wants you, that means you're leverage."

"No, I mean, after you shoved the cure down my throat. I was trying to kill you. Why didn't you finish me off?"

"You think that because we share the same dreams and both care about Stefan that we're alike, but we're not. I value my humanity, at least what's left of it, which is why I let you live—to give you a chance to find whatever shred of humanity's buried underneath 500 years of bad behavior."

"Or maybe you thought that being human was a punishment worse than death for me."

"Nah. That was just a happy accident."

"Well...thank you. I'm glad to know that you care, even if you are a condescending bitch." Suddenly, Nadia appeared and broke Emma's neck. She fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Do I have to knock you out, too?" Nadia asked.

"Not necessary." Nadia grabbed Katherine and man-handled her away.

At the cabin, Stefan watched as Tessa worked at the hearth.

"Hovering actually slows down the process," said Tessa.

"Ah. Got it. So what's your, uh, plan? Take the cure and shove it down Silas' throat? Kill him?"

"You're skipping ahead. We don't stand a chance against Silas with his mental powers."

"You took him down before, right?"

"A long time ago. That was before he could compel masses, and 2,000 years of consuming dribbles of blood from thousands of people...it's allowed him to hone his skills. It prepared him to escape from the tomb I put him in."

"Is that where Amara is right now, locked away in a tomb?"

"No, Stefan. Amara is not locked in a tomb. She couldn't speak after I cut her throat... but I could tell by the way her heart was beating... she knew she was going to die. Can't say I didn't give him a second chance."

"That's what you call a second chance?"

"I'm a complicated person. But Silas remains a simple man. I created the Other Side as a supernatural barrier between Silas and the peaceful afterlife he craved. I dropped him in that tomb with that cure, thinking eventually he would take it and kill himself to be with Amara, just so he could realize that he was caught with me for all eternity."

"How's that working out for you?"

"He's been a little stubborn."

"I take it you're not really making me a daylight ring, are you?"

"Do you really think I'd give you the one thing you need to walk out of here?"

"All right, listen. We're on the same side. I want Silas gone as much as you do—"

"Have you not been listening to me? I have trust issues. I'm controlling, and paranoid, and a little crazy." She used her magic on Stefan, who fell to his knees, grasping at his head and groaning in pain. "And that's working out just fine."

When Damon arrived at the cabin, Tessa was gone and Stefan was bound to a chair, surrounded by a circle of herbs on the floor.

"Stefan. You couldn't call a brother?"

"Nice to see you, too, Damon."

"What the hell is going on here?"

"Well, Silas' ex-girlfriend decided to come back from the Other Side."

"Qetsi-whatever?" Damon tried to untie Stefan when Tessa showed up behind him.

"It's Qetsiyah." She turned to Stefan. "Do you see why I want to change it? You won't be able to break those vines. The spell won't release him until I get what I want."

"Well, I guess the rumors are true. You are a ray of sunshine. Question—why is my brother wearing your compost pile?"

"I'm going to link Stefan to Silas. Casting a spell on his doppelgänger will neutralize Silas' mental powers. Once he's weakened, I will force him to take the cure."

"Well, that's a great idea, force the cure down his throat. The cure is gone, done, it's ingested."

"Katherine, you mean? I'm aware of her condition. She was supposed to be with you."

"Wait. Katherine took the cure?" Stefan asked, confused.

"We have a lot to catch up on, Stefan. Wait a minute. What do you mean supposed to be with me? Did you plant those dreams? What is it, some kind of, like, witch party trick?"

"Where is she?" Tessa asked.

"We ran into a little snag."

"Then I'll get started without her." She chanted over a bowl.

"Okay, well, thanks for the hospitality, but we should really get going if we want to beat traffic."

"Yep, yep. He's right," said Stefan.

"Probably don't want to get on my bad side," Tessa growled.

"You realize you're not the only one with a bad side, right?" Damon threatened.

"Aren't you brave. Without Silas' mental powers, he is an immortal nobody. We can defeat him. Isn't that what you want?"

"Just do it, all right? Just get it over with. Do it," said Stefan. Damon watched Tessa as she dipped her fingers in the hot molten metal in the bowl. She approached Stefan from behind, chanting, and pressed her fingers against the sides of Stefan's head. He gasped. The circle of herbs surrounding Tessa and Stefan ignited into flame.

"What are you doing to my brother?" Damon asked.

"I'm frying Silas' brain. No one said it would be pretty." Both Stefan and Silas' eyes began to bleed. Soon Stefan's head rolled to the side as he lost consciousness.

"All right. We're done here."

"You're right. We're done. It worked." Damon took Stefan's head in his hands, propping it up and shaking it slightly.

"Stefan. Stefan! Stef. Damn it. Whatever you did to him, undo it."

"Relax. I just burned through his conscious mind. He'll wake eventually. You sure you want to take him home? You and Emma were doing so well without doppelganger fate getting in the way."

"What are you talking about?"

"You know Emma and Katherine are doppelgangers right?"

"Of course I know. She told me. Have you been spying on us from the Other Side?"

"Don't flatter yourself. It was like watching a soap opera, except boring and with no volume control. You know, there was one thing worse than being on the Other Side and watching Silas resist the cure."

"Oh, yeah? What was that, realizing that your plan totally sucked?"

"Century after century, I watched versions of Stefan and Emma find each other, like magnets, always the same story—conquering all, falling in love. You didn't think your brother was Silas' first shadow? Destiny has been trying to get the doppelgängers together forever."

"Look here, Miss Crazy, why don't we just dial down the destiny talk a notch, okay?"

"You don't want to hear it, but the universe is working against you."

"If you're trying to downplay your reputation as being a psychopath, you might not want to say you're spokesperson for the universe."

"You and I are the same, Damon...the obstacle standing between two fates. Silas had his true love, and Stefan has Emma. We're merely the conflict that makes it interesting."

"So, what are you suggesting, I leave him here with you while I run off and live happily ever after with _my wife_?

"I'd keep him safe."

"You have a bad track record with men."

"I want to keep him safe. Now that he's linked to Silas, Silas can't mess with our heads, and as long as Stefan's in the way, you will never be with Emma. Take it from a woman who's had front row seats for 2,000 years."

"No one would have to know?"

"No one has to know." Damon paused, seeming to think about it. Suddenly, he grabbed Tessa's throat.

"Or you could just go back to hell." She struggled and managed to say something in another language. Damon released her, grabbing at his head. Tessa threw Damon off, and he fell to the floor. Some time later, Damon heard Emma calling out.

"Damon! Damon! Wake up!" Groggily, Damon saw Emma over him and Klaus picking up Stefan from a chair.

"Klaus?" Damon asked, looking at Emma.

"I called in reinforcements. Are you okay?"

"The room keeps spinning."

"Come on. Let's go home," said Emma as she helped Damon up.

Meanwhile at a motel, Katherine was rifling through Nadia's bag when the door opened and her captor returned. Katherine clumsily turned around, backing away from the bag.

"Fine. I was snooping. Trying to find a passport, or a business card, or maybe even a parking ticket, because you won't tell me who you are." Nadia walked closer and shoved a bag of chips into Katherine's hands.

"You said you were hungry."

"For food, not packaged poison."

"Suit yourself." Nadia's cell phone then rang. "Hmm. If it isn't Silas."

"Where are you?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"You know, I may not be able to read your mind anymore—"

"It's too bad you lost the one thing that made you interesting."

"But that won't stop me from killing you if you don't hold up your end of the deal. Now, whatever twisted fantasy you're playing out with Katherine is your issue, but she stays alive."

"We'll see."

"It wasn't a question. Katherine is still my priority, and since I lost my psychic abilities, that can only mean one thing. My ex-fiancée is alive again, and she's on her way to New Orleans."

"Well, maybe you two will get back together.

"Reconciliation isn't really her thing. She hates me as much as I hate her, and if you think that I don't play fair, wait till you see what she's capable of, because Qetsiyah and I have some common ground—neither one of us will stop until we get what we want, and both of us want the cure." Katherine grabbed the phone from Nadia.

"Enough with the games, Silas. What do you want with me?"

"You know, it's funny. The love of my life looked exactly like you, and yet the mere thought of your face makes me want to vomit."

"I don't know what you're talking about, but if I'm nothing but a gag reflex to you, why not cut me loose, and then we could call it a day?"

"Because the cure still exists, and I still want it. It's just running through your veins right now. Your blood is the cure, Katherine. Does that clear things up for you?" Katherine looked horrified. Nadia grabbed the phone from her and ended the call.

At the Mikaelson Mansion, Stefan was lying unconscious on the sofa while Adria watched over him. Emma and Damon were drinking on the front porch.

"Well, he's got his daylight ring back. We're all set for a picnic," Damon joked.

"He's lucky he has a brother who looks out for him. Otherwise, you might have pawned it for a pinball machine."

"Hmm." Damon looked down.

"You've been suspiciously quiet since the cabin. Tell me what Qetsiyah said that's got you so worried."

"She told me that we don't stand a chance."

"And what does she know about us?"

"Well, she told me a very interesting little story about the history of doppelgängers, how they're fated to fall in love with each other. Basically, the universe programmed you to fall in love with Stefan, not me, which means...we're a lost cause no matter what we do. I'm paraphrasing."

"The universe?" Emma asked, disbelieving.

"Her words, not mine."

"So, she's crazy?"

"Maybe. Maybe she's not."

Emma rested her and Damon's drink on the porch railing and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Look. I know I spent the last couple days focusing on trying to help you find Stefan, but that has nothing to do with how I feel about you, and I'm not gonna let Silas' 2,000-year-old ex-girlfriend screw things up between us."

"What, you think I am?!" he asked, breaking from her grip. "I mean, no one tells me how I live my life, no one tells me who I love, especially not some vindictive prehistoric witch, and definitely not the universe. And I'm not gonna let someone else's idea of destiny stop me from loving you or being with you or building a future with you, because…you and Addy are my life." Tears left Emma's eyes and she kissed him.

"I love you," she whimpered.

"I love you." He hugged her. "And I'll never let anything or anyone take you from me."

"Uh, Mom, Dad!" Adria called from the house. "I think we have a problem." They walked into the house and saw Stefan sitting up on the couch. Emma noticed Adria and the other Originals were looking at Stefan, puzzled. What was going on?

"Welcome back, brother," Damon smirked.

"We missed you, Stefan," Emma added.

"Uh, I'm sorry. I…I have no idea who you people are." Emma and Damon looked at each other in shock.

* * *

**Please review!**


	12. Control

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything except Emma, Adria, and Eliza!**

* * *

A black car sped down a highway at night as Stefan read a passage from his diary aloud while Damon drove.

"'March 12, 1922. I blacked out for days. I woke up in a stranger's blood in places I don't recognize with women I don't remember,'" Stefan read before scoffing. "All right. I think I've read enough."

"Nada?"

"I know 'nada' means nothing. I know what day it is, I know what year it is, I know this car has a V-8 engine, and yet I am two journals deep, and I have absolutely no memory of who the hell I am." Stefan took a sip from a blood bag. "And, is this supposed to fill me up?"

"Well, yes, and no. Technically, yeah, because you're a vampire."

"Weird."

"Realistically no, because you're, you know, you."

"Ah, yes. The insatiable and blood-lusting vampire, Ripper of Monterrey."

"And we're only in the 1920s, baby."

"Well, sorry, but this is a lot to process," said Stefan as he rolled down the window to throw out the blood bag. Damon grabbed the bag from him and threw it on the black seat.

"You're a vampire, not a cave man." Stefan rolled the window back up.

"So, let me get this straight. I helped you steal this car, I found out I was a vampire who killed his own father, and yet I don't litter?"

"You're a man of principle, Stefan, who had his memories erased by a 2,000-year-old witch."

"Yeah. Well, I bet that 2,000-year-old witch probably drives a little faster than you. Wait. Let me guess. I'm the fun brother. You're the safe brother." Damon chuckled deviously and punched the gas. "What are you doing?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Do I really have a choice?"

"Nope." He pulled the emergency brake and made the car slide on the road. The vehicle flipped around multiple times at incredible speed, glass and metal littering the road. As the engine caught fire, Stefan and Damon laid on the road, outside the car.

"Oh. I got it. You're the fun brother." The two brothers chuckled.

"Whew."

Meanwhile at the Mikaelson Mansion, Emma was fast asleep in her and Damon's bedroom when her cellphone sitting on the nightstand rang. Groaning, she sleepily silenced the phone's ringing to the tune of Timo Maas' To Get Down.

"Hello?" she answered, yawning.

"Did I wake you?" Emma inwardly groaned. Marcel.

"How the hell did you get this number?"

"One of life's many mysteries."

"What do you want at…" Emma looked at the time on her iPhone. "Two in the morning, Marcel? Seriously? Just because I'm a vampire doesn't mean I'm nocturnal!"

"Pardon me from taking you away from your beauty sleep. I'm sure at a thousand years you need it." Emma growled. "Easy. I thought you'd like to know of an interesting report I received. Apparently, a nice black Camaro was stolen from a car dealership and was completely totaled. I was notified that Damon was driving the car."

"Are you spying on my husband?" Emma smirked. Silence. "Hmm. Jealousy suits you, Marcel."

"I don't like covering up your husband's messes."

"I never asked you to so butt out. Damon's a big boy. He can take care of himself."

"Oh, I highly doubt that."

"Is that a threat, Marcellus?"

"Just a warning. Don't worry about the wreck. My daywalkers will deal with it in the morning." Marcel hung up and Emma's body hummed with rage. She was going to kill Damon for drawing so much attention to himself and she sure as hell wasn't going to owe Marcel for anything. She pulled on a pair of black heeled slippers and a black robe over her blue and black satin slip. She grabbed the keys to her car and stormed out of the bedroom. Kol, Klaus, and Rebekah each poked a head out of their bedrooms, having sensed Emma's anger.

"Where are you going, love?" Klaus asked as Emma walked downstairs.

"To go kill something!" Emma growled before slamming the door. Muttering multiple Russian curses, she left the Mikaelson Mansion in a red Mustang GTO, having sensed Damon's location through her blood tie with him. She saw the Salvatore brothers lying on the highway, laughing as the wreckage around them burned. The two brothers then noticed Emma's red car approaching them from behind. Emma sped past them and turned the car around in a circle, smoke rising from the tires, before she parked. She then exited the car.

"Uh oh. Someone looks pissed and remarkably attractive," Stefan smiled, taking in Emma's long legs.

"Really, Emma? You couldn't put on some decent clothes?" Damon asked. Emma punched him.

"Ow!" Damon groaned, massaging his cheek.

"Vy mozg mertv tupitsa! _(You brain dead dumbass!)_"

"That's that not very nice, Emma. I thought we were past the name calling stage of our relationship. Are you mad I didn't invite you for a little grand theft auto?"

"Ya zhenat na dvukhletniy. _(I'm married to a two-year old)._"

"Um, hi," Stefan waved to Emma. "Don't speak Russian."

"You both are idiots! Get in the car now before my baser instincts decide to snap your bloody necks!"

"Oh come on, Em. Lighten up," said Damon.

"Have you forgotten the reason we came to this town, Damon? To take down Marcel." Stefan looked at Damon curiously.

"Sired by Emma and Klaus, crazy vampire dictator of the French Quarter," said Damon, giving his brother the Cliff Notes version. "Oh and he's also Emma's ex. We want to get rid of him."

"And my plan requires a certain amount of secrecy. Secrecy that I lose when you start stealing and blowing up cars! Not to mention Marcel is scrutinizing your every move!" Emma growled.

"What?"

"Stefan, get in the car while I have a word with your brother."

"But…"

"I said get in the BLOODY CAR!" Emma screeched, veins traveling down her face. Stefan immediately jumped into the back seat.

"I think you need a Valium," said Damon.

"I didn't want Stefan to hear what I have to tell you next. Marcel has a bloody spy on your tail." She motioned to the trunk.

"You didn't," said Damon.

"I thought you'd enjoy punishing the vampire." Damon smirked and opened the trunk, revealing a vampire Emma had captured while traveling to the crash site. He was tied up and gagged. Damon untied and ungagged the vampire before throwing him out of the trunk and kicking him.

"I want you to deliver Marcel a message. Spy on me again and I'll rip his heart out and shove it down his throat. Something I'm very good at. Now get lost." Damon released the vampire and he sped away. "Okay, we better clean this up."

"You should duck," said Emma as her eyes glowed black. Damon hit the floor as electricity sparked from Emma's body and pushed the wreckage into the forest.

"Five second warning! How many times do I have to say five second warning!" Damon chastised.

"You're lucky I gave you two. I don't like waking up alone in bed to a phone call from Marcel!"

"How'd he get your number?"

"Hell if I know. Let's go. We can talk about it more later after we drop your brother off at home." The car ride home was tense.

"You guys coming?" Stefan asked when they pulled into the driveway.

"Go ahead, Stef. Get some sleep. Emma and I need to discuss some things." Stefan shrugged and walked into the house. Once the door shut, Emma turned on the radio. Damon raised a brow.

"I don't want anyone overhearing what we discuss." Damon nodded in agreement.

"So…how mad are you?"

"You don't want me to answer that question," Emma replied tightly.

_Great,_ Damon sighed.

"I think it's quite apparent from tonight's events that Marcel is insanely jealous," Emma began.

"You think?" Damon scoffed. "He's spying on me."

"He doesn't understand how a vampire younger than him could possibly hold my attention. He's probably trying to think of ways to get rid of you as we speak," Emma giggled.

"Don't get so excited."

"I'm excited because we can use this to our advantage. Marcel is still emotionally invested in me."

"Lovely," Damon growled.

"Oh, don't get growly on me. It's perfect. When I arrived in New Orleans three hundred years ago, Emmalyne was safely tucked away even though I still had my emotions turned off. Well, they weren't really off. My switch was more like a dimmer back then. I could let certain emotions in if I wanted to. If I wanted to feel love I could, if I wanted to feel anger…I could. After I left, my love for Marcel changed into nothing but pure hatred. A hatred I refused to feel. Then I met you and my switch completely evaporated. Marcel wants me for himself. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen. We're going to use his emotions against him." Damon sighed, catching on to Emma's plan. "You don't like my plan?"

"It's smart and wicked and exactly what I would do if I were you."

"But…"

"The idea of him putting one hand on you makes my skin crawl, my blood boil."

"I won't let it go that far. Besides, what do you care? You've obviously gotten no where with Stefan and because of that I've slept alone in a cold bed for two days."

"Emma, his brain is completely fried. He doesn't remember anything about his past. Nothing. I've tried everything."

"That's not what I'm upset about!"

"Then what!"

"You haven't told him about me. You haven't told him that we're married." Emma looked straight out the window. "Am I that much of a screw-up that you can't even tell your own brother about the woman you love?" Emma then turned to Damon's seat and saw he was gone. She turned around and saw him in the back seat with a smirk on his face. "What are you doing?"

"If we're going to have this conversation, we're going to have it back here."

"No."

"Aw. Why not? There's so much more room."

"Because if I let you touch me, then I'll lose all my resolve."

"Well, then…I guess you'll never know," said Damon, appealing to Emma's curiosity.

"Damn you." She crawled into the back seat and Damon pulled her into his lap.

"Much better," said Damon as he drew locks of Emma's hair away from her neck.

"Don't," Emma warned, grabbing his hand. "Talk."

"Fine. I don't know exactly how he's going to take it."

"You won't know unless you try."

"In my defense, I have tried. I was going to tonight, but considering the way he looked at your legs, I thought otherwise."

"Is this about that doppelganger destiny crap?"

"He does seem drawn to you."

"Damon! We discussed this."

"I know. I just…I need to ask you something and I don't know how you're going to react." Emma looked at him, curiously. "I've always assumed that Stefan was attracted to you because I had you. Because he was jealous of me, but…hell, I'm just going to say it. Was there ever a time, at all, where you hinted to him that you were interested?"

Emma was floored and knew she couldn't dodge this bullet. This was the end of the one and only lie she'd ever told her husband. "Damon," Emma whispered reluctantly, guilt in her eyes.

"I knew it," Damon sighed as he rested back against the seat and closed his eyes. Emma sighed and interlaced her fingers with his. He didn't open his eyes, but let out a breath of comfort.

"Look at me."

"I can't."

"Please," she cried. Surprised at her tone, Damon opened his eyes and saw tears running down Emma's cheek, her breathing heavy.

"Emma." He'd never seen her cry like this.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Out of everything I've done, out of all the lives I've taken, I've had a lot of regrets and there is nothing more that I have regretted than what I did in 1864. It crushes me. For over a century, I've kept it from you…because I wanted to protect you. And every day the guilt tears me apart, knowing that I kept it from you. Knowing that I was with you because of a lie. I just wanted you so much, I couldn't bear losing you over something that was so stupid."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"It…it…" Damon could tell she was struggling with her words.

"Shh. Just take a deep breath."

"You'll hate me. You'll hate me more than you've ever hated me."

"I've never hated you. You drive me crazy sometimes, but I could never hate you." He cupped her cheeks and kissed her forehead. Emma tried to keep in more tears, but her heart wouldn't let her.

"It was in 1864. You were on the battlefield. In my last letter to you, I had told you that Stefan was making advances on me. You wrote me back and I felt so much better about the situation, but…"

"Something happened." Emma nodded.

"Katherine got under my skin. I got drunk. Like really drunk. I don't think I've ever been that hammered in my life. Anyway, Stefan took care of me."

"My brother, ever the White Knight."

"Not really. He took advantage of me, Damon."

"What?"

"I was a mess. I missed you. I was so…lonely. I had no one. We spent the night together…in between the sheets. And then I woke up and realized what I'd done. I'd become her. I'd become Katherine. I'd seen how she'd driven Elijah and Klaus apart and I couldn't do that to you. So I went to find Stefan and tell him how I felt. That we couldn't be together because I loved you and I would always love you. But…he did some things to me…to make that hard." Damon's grip around Emma's waist tightened.

"What did he do?"

"He went to your father and told him about our dalliance. Giuseppe practically announced it to the whole town, pronounced that we were engaged. I was horrified, desperate. I didn't want you to find out. So I made a deal with Katherine. If she helped me compel everyone and get this whole thing put to bed, I'd let her have her way with Stefan and I wouldn't stand in the way of her plans."

"Emma!" Damon chastised.

"I know. It was bad. I just…I didn't want to lose you. We compelled the entire town, including Giuseppe. We didn't compel Stefan, but I scared him enough."

"What did you do?"

"Don't make me say it. Please. It'll change everything," Emma cried.

"I need to know, Em."

"I threatened him. I took him by the throat and I told him if he ever spoke a word of it to anyone, I would kill him…in front of you…to prove my loyalty. I gave him the same threat when he turned. I'm so sorry. I'm a terrible person. All I know is killing, all I know is death. I killed my family and I almost killed your brother. And I lied to you. You asked me when you came back, if anything happened with Stefan and I said no. I lied. That was the only time I've ever lied to you. I was so afraid you'd never come back from the war, that you'd be killed and I'd never know that kind of happiness again. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Her cries were muffled as she collapsed into Damon's chest. His arms hugged her tightly to him.

"Shh. It's okay, my love. It's okay."

"No. It's not okay. It'll never be okay."

"Yes. It will. Because I love you and I forgive you." Emma sniffled and looked up at Damon.

"How? How can you forgive me? What I did…" Damon silenced her with a kiss. The power that this kiss held was so earth-shattering, so life-altering that all of Emma's worries and fears melted away. Their tongues intertwined as Damon's hands crawled from grabbing fistfuls of her hair to her ass, grinding her against him.

"I never should have left you," said Damon as he placed wet kisses down her neck, lingering on her pulse. "I knew it the day I left. I knew it would be the one thing I would forever regret. I knew it would change things. And I knew that when you told me everything was fine you weren't telling me everything. But I didn't call you out on it because I didn't have the courage to ask. And I didn't ask now because I've gained that courage. I asked because when I tell Stefan about you and me, I don't want there to be any guilt, any secrets. And I sure as hell don't want it to blow up in my face if Stefan remembers things about you when I tell him. I love you, Emma. Nothing will ever change that and all that matters is that we're together right here, right now. I know I've been distant the past couple of days, but it has nothing to do with you. Now…how about I make up for all those lonely nights? From your state of undress, I'm guessing one way or the other you were going to get your way."

"I was so mad that I didn't even know I was only wearing this."

"Uh-huh," Damon muttered skeptically.

"Okay. Maybe I wanted to make you a little hot and bothered."

"Oh, I'm definitely both. Now…what do you have on underneath this robe."

"I guess you'll have to unwrap me to find out," she smirked. Damon tore at the belt and the black silk of the robe slipped down her shoulders, hanging onto her elbows.

"Oh," Damon groaned as he saw the blue silk and black lace. "My favorite." Damon slipped one of the small blue straps off her shoulders and licked her shoulder. Emma's hands shot up into the inky depths of his hair. When he returned to kissing her lips, Emma began to pull up his shirt and Damon broke away so she could remove the clothing.

Before he could kiss her again, she pushed him at vampire speed so he was lying across the seat. Rock music pounded from the stereo as Emma crawled up his body, her robe still hanging on her elbows, her hair sexily askew. Damon groaned at the sight. She was the most beautiful creature he'd ever witnessed. Come hell or high water, no one would take Emma from him. Not Marcel and definitely not Stefan. As she kissed up his chest, her nails scratched his skin, drawing blood. She licked the small stains away and Damon's eyes rolled into the back of his head. God, was she good. He grounded up against her and moaned as he felt how wet she was through his jeans. His hands moved to her back, but Emma pulled them away, pushing them by his side.

"As punishment for leaving me alone for two days, you can't touch me until I say so." Emma then kissed back down his chest as she unbuckled his belt.

"Emma," Damon pouted as she slowly unzipped his pants, teasing him. At vampire speed, she pulled off his boots and pants and wrapped her hand around his length. Damon's back arched and his breathing grew heavier as she stroked him. "Yes! More!" Emma let her robe slip off her and her hands moved up to grip her hair as she ground against Damon's erection to the beat of the music. "Let me touch you. Please," he panted.

"Not yet," Emma growled. She pulled off her slip and ground harder against him.

"Emma! I'm going to lose it."

"Then lose it with me." He noticed black veins pulse from her eyes. He too let his human façade fall. Pleased, Emma took his hands and guided them up her stomach to her breasts. He squeezed and molded the flesh in his hands, causing Emma to let out a moan. He sat up and showered the valley of her breasts with licks and kisses before taking one breast into his mouth. Emma threw her head back and moaned loudly. Her hands wound into his hair as they bucked against each other faster, needing release. Emma roughly pushed him back down onto the seat and let his length slide into her. Emma set the pace as she slowly grinded against him, Damon's fingers scratching down her back. Emma half-laughed, half-moaned. Release finally claimed them both, but they were no where near done with each other. Damon flipped them so she was on her back.

"You had your fun. My turn." He grabbed her chin and kissed her, pouring every ounce of passion he had into the kiss. Emma's legs wrapped around his waist as he thrust into her and Damon let his fingertips slide against the wet skin of her thighs. He kissed her neck before biting and taking long drags off her life blood. Emma screamed before bring his neck down to her and biting. When they separated, they were a bloody mess. Damon pulled Emma back up so she was sitting on his lap. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Lean back." Emma leaned back so the rest of her body lay against the center section. With the new angle, Damon pounded into her, harder, deeper, faster.

"Yes!" Emma screamed as they both came. With their release, Damon brought Emma back up and kissed her sweetly. Panting, they laid on the back seat, facing each other, Emma pushed into the back seat while Damon laid on the edge.

"You still keep that blanket in your car?"

"Floor board." Damon turned and saw a cream afghan lying on the floorboard. He pulled it off the floor and over their flushed bodies. Emma lay partly on Damon and partly on the seat. Once they were comfortable, Damon stroked Emma's back and kissed her softly while Emma ran her hand through his hair, massaging his scalp.

"I'll tell him tomorrow," said Damon as Emma yawned. "Sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

"You better be," Emma replied as she stretched and wrapped her arms around Damon's neck. Her head lying in the crook of his neck, Damon kissed the crown of her head.

"I'll never leave you. I promise."

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	13. Dear Mr President

**Disclaimer: I only own Emma, Adria, and Eliza!**

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"Over the course of my life, I've encountered no shortage of those who would presume to speak of good and evil," said Klaus to Cami as he stared at a large painting in his mansion. "Such terms mean nothing. People do what is in their best interest, regardless of who gets hurt. Is it evil to take what one wants? To satisfy hunger, even if doing so will cause another suffering? What some would call evil, I believe to be an appropriate response to a harsh and unfair world."

"No offense, but I'm not sure I follow why you've invited me here."

"Because I enjoy your company. And I sense that you have the capacity for understanding someone of my...complexity. You see, I returned to New Orleans to investigate a threat posed against me and my ex-lover. What I found was a young woman, pregnant, in need of protection. My brother, always the do-gooder, tried to manipulate me into helping her—he thought it might redeem me. Trouble is, I've since learned of another young woman—a girl, really, one with vast potential—held in captivity by a tyrant. I want to help both of these women—protect one and free the other. So, tell me, Cami—does that sound evil to you?"

"I don't believe in evil as a diagnosis. I think you have unstable personal relationships, stress-related paranoia, chronic anger issues, fear of abandonment. I think you could benefit from talking to someone. Professionally."

"I think I prefer to talk to you," Klaus smiled. "So, I'm going to offer you a job, as my stenographer."

"Okay, what are we writing?"

"My memoirs, of course. Someone should know my story. And it will give us time to discuss other riveting subjects, like your handsome suitor, Marcel."

"Excuse me? My private life is–"

"Your private life is, as it turns out, essential to my plans. You see, Marcel wants you. And, because of that, he will trust you, which serves me. The thing is, the French Quarter is on the verge of war. On the one side there's me, and on the other, Marcel. Along with a very powerful witch and an army of vampires."

"WHAT?" Klaus zoomed over to her, pushed her against a wall, and compelled her.

"You're frightened. Don't be."

"I'm not scared anymore," said Cami, puzzled. "That's...amazing. How did you...?"

"It's called compulsion. It's a neat bit of vampire trickery. I'll tell you all about it. But first, let's talk a little more about Marcel."

A few minutes later, Cami left the Mikaelsons as Emma walked into the room wearing her lingerie from last night.

"Looks like someone had an…eventful night." Emma raised a brow. "I noticed Damon walking in wearing only an afghan."

"Let's just say I always get my way."

"He appeared to be in a hurry."

"He went off for brother bonding." As Emma turned toward the stairs, Klaus sped in front of her. "What?"

"You had music on in your car last night."

"Is this an interrogation?" Klaus shot Emma a look. "I didn't want Stefan to hear Damon doing me into oblivion."

"Don't lie to me, Emmalyne." Emma rolled her eyes.

"Fine. I've found another chink in Marcel's armor that Damon and I are going to exploit."

"Do tell."

"He sent someone to spy on Damon."

"He's jealous. I don't understand. He's interested in Cami."

"Marcel wants to have his cake and eat it too. But I have a plan. I'm going to use his emotions for me against him. Not to mention, it'll prove to Marcel that Damon is much more dangerous than him." Klaus smirked in approval. "Can I take a shower now, Detective Mikaelson?" Shaking his head humorously, Klaus stepped aside.

Later in the day, Klaus stopped by Rousseau's Bar. Klaus entered as Cami wiped down the bar at work.

"Hello, Cami."

"How is it that when you come up to me now, and no one else is around, I suddenly remember that you just told me you're a vampire, and you're mind-controlling me? And then you leave, and then I go back to thinking you're just some hot guy with a cute accent and money to burn on your sprawling memoir?"

"Well, that's how compulsion works, love."

"Yeah, but what's happening? Is it hypnosis? Are my neurons being shut down somehow?"

"You're always the curious scholar. Let's talk about Marcel. You said you have a little information for me.

"He's bringing someone to the music festival tonight for Remembrance Day. A girl he's mentoring. Apparently she's going through a hard time. Rebelling against authority, anger issues, that sort of thing. I guess with my psych degree, he figured I could set her straight, but I said no."

"I'm going to go ahead and insist that you change your answer to 'yes'."

"You're going to force me to do this, aren't you? Why even bother with politeness?"

"Because I like you. I like the way your mind works. Under different circumstances, I think we might be friends. However, I don't have the luxury of passing up tonight's opportunity. You see, in addition to being Marcel's rather potent secret weapon, this girl, Davina, is holding my brother captive. In other words…" Klaus compelled Cami. "The girl needs your help. Call Marcel. Tell him you'd be happy to oblige."

At the Mikaelson Mansion, Emma was on the phone with Caroline who was at Tulane.

"Please tell me I wasn't out of my mind leaving Damon in charge of Vampire Amnesia 101," said Emma.

"What did he say exactly?"

"One text. 'So far, so good.' Which, in Damon speak..."

"Means that they probably devoured a troop of Girls Scouts by now."

"Caroline!"

"I'm kidding…kind of. Although it's not uncommon for patients with retrograde amnesia or other traumatic brain injuries to turn volatile."

"Okay, Dr. Forbes. Since when do you know so much about amnesia?"

"It's possible I studied up on my chem, biochem, applied microbio, molecular bio, and Gray's Anatomy—the real one and the television show."

"You did all that for Stefan?"

"Of course I did. I'm also trying to impress Dr. Maxfield. I figured if I could get closer to him, i.e. into his biology class, maybe I could figure out why he covered up our roommate's murder by vampire, and it's also possible that I have a study buddy." Caroline entered a classroom. "Hi, Dr. Maxfield. Are you ready to go study, Jesse?"

"Jesse? Adria told me about him. Isn't he the and I quote 'Dr. Maxfield's incredibly hot, funny, and miraculously single lab assistant'?" Emma asked over the phone.

"I'm dragging him to the graveyard bell-ringing ceremony."

"As in creepy first date?"

"As in a study date. While I'm there, I might as well ring a bell for Tyler and me considering our relationship is on its deathbed. Will I see you there?"

"Depends on how Stefan's handling the whole download of his dark and stormy past. I'll talk to you later." Emma hung up and started tapping on a laptop on a table while Hayley sat on the couch, flipping through a book as she talked to Agnes.

"I told you Agnes, I feel great!" said Hayley.

"You are overdue for a checkup."

"What am I gonna do? Pop into the Quarter for a quick ultrasound? A pregnant werewolf escorted by a witch—nothing to see here!"

"A lot of women would kill to have a child. It strikes me as odd that you're not taking better care of yours," said Rebekah, walking in with a vase of flowers which she arranged on the table beside Emma's laptop.

"I know a doctor out in the bayou. Off the beaten path. Now, I took the liberty of making an appointment for you. Tonight, after-hours, just us. Vampires will never get word of it," said Agnes.

"Okay, fine. Bayou-baby-doctor it is." Agnes and Hayley left the room while Emma continued to look through satellite photos of the Quarter. Klaus walked in with Kol.

"Please, Emma, tell me you're not still at it with the internet search," Klaus groaned.

"How does one begin, anyway? Just type in anonymous attic?'" Kol joked.

"Someone has to find Elijah, even if I have to search every bloody attic in New Orleans."

"Like looking for a needle in a rather large pile of needles," said Klaus.

"I remember details about the attic Marcel took me to. There were shutters on the windows behind Elijah's coffin."

"Well, that should narrow it down immensely. Myself, I prefer actual strategy as opposed to mind-numbing labor. Marcel's delay in returning Elijah makes me suspect he's no longer in charge of the situation. If Davina's loyalty to Marcel is strained, perhaps the young witch will be open to discussing a new alliance."

"As usual, your power grabs are more important than rescuing your brother," Emma smiled bitterly.

"I prefer to think of it as killing two birds with one stone. Rob Marcel of his secret weapon, bring Elijah home."

Later, a crowd of nightwalkers were hanging out in small groups in a dark bar. Evan, one of Emma's vampire sleeper agents, approached Diego, who was feeding on a young woman.

"Hey, Diego!" Diego scowled and stopped feeding on the girl. As he wiped the blood from his mouth, he dropped the unconscious girl onto the floor before reluctantly turning toward Evan.

"What?"

"Uh, do you know any way to fast track the whole...getting a daylight ring thing?"

"You get a daylight ring when you get invited into the inner circle. For you, that may never happen."

"Yeah, but there's an opening, right? Now that Thierry's like...you know…"

"You shut up about Thierry, alright? He didn't deserve what he got. Marcel was just showing off because for Klaus. Can't wait 'til his ancient-ass is outta here."

"You and me both," said Emma, entering the bar.

"Look alive, boys. We got ourselves one high-class Original vampire," said Diego walking toward Emma. "I heard your husband gave Steve quite the scare."

"Mmm. You're a real charmer. I guess they only teach manners in Virginia. And as to your little spy, my husband has a temper. But I'm not here about your spying shenanigans."

"That wasn't the inner circle's idea."

"I know. It was Marcel's. Enough about that. What if I told you I could help you out with your little Klaus problem, in exchange for the tiniest bit of gossip?"

"Like what?"

"You might have heard the rumors that Marcel and I were quite the item, back in the day. He seems to have moved on, and I'd like to know with who."

"You've seen him with the bartender."

"What, that plain-Jane that he carries on with? Only a blind man would choose her over me. There must be another girl in his harem." Diego shrugged. "Look, I am happily married, but seeing Marcel…I just need the tiniest bit of closure. And then I can leave New Orleans and I'll be sure to take Klaus with me, which, let's face it, would make your life a whole lot easier?"

"Look, Marcel's got a full plate. If he's seeing some other hottie, she's somewhere in the Quarter, probably close by." Emma smiled and nodded. "And that, milady, is all I got."

At another bar, a guy was holding a shot of liquor and rang a bell gathering everyone's attention.

"To Uncle Steve!"

"To Uncle Steve!" everyone in the bar yelled. Everyone raised their glasses and drank, including Stefan and Damon who were sitting at a table.

"Wow. This town always so upbeat about dead people?" Stefan asked.

"Well, it is New Orleans. And in the theme of morbid town tradition, you go back to the 1820s when everyone was so paranoid about the cholera thing that they would occasionally bury a body a wee bit before its time."

"So, we have a holiday dedicated to burying people alive?"

"Well, they were so paranoid that they would actually request to be buried with a string attached to a bell above ground, and then the whole family would hang around the grave for 24 hours in hopes of hearing the bell and that their loved one would come back, but now it's just really an excuse to get hammered and listen to kick-ass music." A waitress came to the table and started picking up the empty glasses. "Hello."

"Hi," she replied. Stefan stared at the waitress' neck and noticed a very thick vein. Damon noticed Stefan.

"Uh, hey, darling. We'd love another round, please."

"You got it." As the waitress left, Stefan followed her with his head and even stretched his neck a little in her direction. He snapped out of it and looked at Damon.

"What the hell was that?"

"That, my brother, was you jonesing for something a little stronger than a blood bag."

"So, what's the problem? You spent the whole day trying to convince me I was a vampire. I'm convinced. Let me act like one."

"Well, unfortunately, Stefan, there are two types of vampires in the world, okay? There are those that can handle moderation, and then there's you."

"Well, I'm no shrink. Right?"

"Right," said Damon immediately.

"But maybe killing our father and turning you into a vampire and all the trauma associated with that is what made me become a vampire who feeds on people and then rips their heads off, but now that I don't have all those memories and all that guilt, maybe the Ripper thing won't be such a problem."

"Let's not try it out, okay?" The bell rang again and they clinked their glasses. As they were about to drink, Emma walked in.

"And here I thought catching up on nearly two centuries would be a drag."

"Remind me of your name again," said Stefan. Emma recoiled.

"Emma."

"Emma. Right. Got to remember that," said Stefan.

"You haven't told him about me yet?" Emma asked Damon.

"Two hundred years is a long time."

"Right. Well…I'm Damon's w—"

"Partner in crime," Damon interrupted. Emma glared at him. She took one of his shots and drank it. A few minutes later, Stefan had left the table and Emma took his seat. "So, Mr. 'So Far, So Good,' Mr. 'I Can Handle My Brother,' Mr. 'I Know What I'm Doing.'"

"Hey. I never said I know what I'm doing."

"Hmm." Emma pulled out her phone and dialed a number.

"Who are you calling?"

"Eliza. A witch did this to him. If I can get three vampire-witches together, like oh I don't know myself, Adria, and Liza, then maybe we can undo it."

"I'm on top of it, sister. I've called her about ten times. She hasn't called me back." He grabbed Emma's phone. "Look. I say until she does, let's just let Stefan be Stefan, fun, carefree, drunk Stefan without a hundred years of vampire guilt on his shoulders." Stefan appeared to be flirting with the waitress from before at the bar.

"That guilt came from a blood addiction that might still be hard-wired in his brain."

"Since when are you the queen of nature versus nurture?" They looked where Stefan was and he was gone. So was the waitress.

"Where'd he go?"

"You don't see that cute, little waitress anywhere, do you?" They headed toward a back room and Damon stopped Stefan before he bit the waitress. "Today, I'm the safe brother."

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	14. Dark Paradise

**Disclaimer: I only own Emma, Adria, and Eliza!**

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"Hindsight being 20/20, way too much temptation at the bar, so if this Ripper gene is biological, then we need to minimize human contact until we get your brain all witchy-wooed back to normal, so here it is," said Damon as he, Stefan, and Emma entered Pickens Cemetery.

"Is there anybody in our family I didn't kill?"

"Well, we've covered our father, may he rot in hell. Uncle Zach, my bad. On the bright side, our mother's a vampire."

"Oh. Good." Damon's phone vibrated and he saw a text from Kol that read _I need to talk to you ALONE._

"I got to go see a man about a vampire-witch. Party on without me. Brother, for you." He handed him a bottle of liquor. "And this is for you." He handed a bell to Emma who was lighting some candles in the mausoleum. Damon then left, but not before surreptitiously stroking Emma's shoulder.

"Well, I, uh, I certainly hope your family history was happier than mine," said Stefan to Emma.

"Well, let's see. I was turned a thousand years ago. I killed my mother, sister, step-father, step-brother, and second husband. I've been divorced three times. I was a raging Ripper until 1864. Oh, and all my descendants are dead too. So yeah, my history is totally not tragic." Stefan smiled and Emma chuckled. "What?"

"How do I not remember you? I mean, you're smart, you're pretty, you're funny. Obviously, you're the strongest woman in the world if you managed to figure out a way to get through all that."

"I surround myself with amazing people who help me through it. Like you and your brother."

"Bonded by death, huh?"

"I suppose. Come on. Let's get out of here. This place is morbid as hell. There's something I'd like to show you." Outside the cemetery, Damon was on the phone with Kol.

"Hello," Kol answered.

"Kol Mikaelson picks up. Wow. It's a Remembrance Day miracle. Now tell me you found Eliza because I have a hungry vampire who forgot that he's the hero of the story."

"I need you to come meet me, and I need you to come alone."

"And I need you to be less vague and less weird."

"I know where Eliza is. Get over here and I'll explain." Damon immediately left for the Mansion. Kol was sitting on couch when Damon walked in.

"Ok. Where is she? Call her. Get her here," said Damon.

"That's the problem. I can't actually call her. No one can." Damon looked at Kol, confused.

"Don't do this, Kol," said Eliza.

"I've been lying to everyone for months, and I can't keep lying knowing that everyone's waiting for her to swoop in and save the day."

"I don't speak 'crazy-person,' Kol. You're gonna have to translate that for me."

"Do you remember when you and Emma went to New York? Adria wanted to go to this concert. She begged us. So Eliza and I took her. But there was a warlock hunting her. While I took Adria to safety, Eliza took on the warlock." Damon's eyes widened in understanding. Only three vampire-witches using their magic in conjunction were a match for warlocks.

"No."

"Damon, she's…"

"Don't say it, Kol. Don't you dare."

"Nobody has spoken to her all summer except Adria and I. I can see her because of our blood tie and Addy can because of her powers."

"You say it, and everything in Emma's life goes to crap, do you understand me? Everything changes."

"Do not say it, Kol," said Eliza.

"Don't," Damon begged.

"Eliza's dead."

"Damn it, Kol! You realize what you just did!" He started to walk away. "Why would you say that!"

"I'm sorry. People need to know." Damon looked very upset. He started walking toward Kol and appeared he was going to punch him, but he hugged his friend instead. Remarkably over the past years, Damon and Kol had become good friends. Their personalities were similar and their friendship was quite reminiscent of Damon's and Alaric's.

"I'm sorry. I know you loved her a lot."

Meanwhile at the cemetery, Emma and Stefan stood in a secluded area of the cemetery, looking at a mausoleum.

"Close your eyes," said Emma.

"You close your eyes."

"Come on, Stefan. Trust me," Emma smiled.

"All right." He closed his eyes and Emma sped away from him.

"All right. You can open them. The view's great! Come on up." He saw she was standing on top of the mausoleum's roof.

"How the hell do I get up there?"

"Jump. Just push off with every ounce of strength that you have."

"Ok." Stefan jumped onto the room, surprised but satisfied. "All right. Well, I have to admit that was, uh…that was actually pretty amazing. We dated, didn't we?"

"I thought Damon hadn't told you about me."

"I may have amnesia, but I'm not an idiot."

"We were briefly involved."

"And obviously we're not together anymore, so I have a feeling me ripping people's heads off might have been a little bit of a turn-off."

"Actually, no. When we were together, you were human. I was a vampire. You were the most compassionate person I'd ever met. You hated the idea of hurting anyone. The guilt would overwhelm you. You were always in control."

"God, I was boring." Emma laughed. "Why'd we break up?"

"It's complicated."

"How'd you become a vampire?"

"Which time?"

"I don't understand."

"The first time I turned into a vampire was over a thousand years ago. My third husband, Elijah, turned me."

"Klaus' brother? The guy you're trying to find." Emma nodded.

"A few years ago, I was turned back into a human and I died on a bridge in Virginia. Car accident. Due to some witchy mojo, I came back as a vampire. You were there the second time."

"Why didn't I save you?"

"Because the second time you saved a human. Matt Donovan. I asked you to."

"Ah. Got it. So, I'm an idiot."

"No. You valued what I wanted even if it wasn't what you agreed with. You knew I'd come back, but you knew Matt wouldn't. You did the right thing."

"Well, it's gonna take me a minute to wrap my head around that."

"Fair enough."

"It's working, you know?"

"You're remembering?" asked Emma, shocked.

"No. I mean, this, whatever we're doing, the distracting, the subliminating, whatever you wanna call it. The urge to feed has settled. I'm not, uh, hungry anymore."

"Good."

"Whatever monster I was capable of being…"

"You were never a monster."

"Emma, I saw my reflection in the mirror today. I was scared of me."

"Well, you never scared me." The two grew closer and Stefan was about to kiss her before Emma interrupted. "I'm married." Stefan noticed the ring on her hand.

"So you are. To Elijah, I presume. Why else would you be trying to find him so desperately?"

"No. I'm trying to find him because he's my friend."

"Then who are you married to?"

Emma took a breath. "I'm with Damon." Stefan stepped back, confused.

"He stole you from me."

"It wasn't like that."

"And neither of you thought that was something that I should know?"

"We weren't hiding it from you. It's not that…I'm sorry. I just..." Emma took a few steps away from Stefan.

"And just like that, the hunger returns."

"I'm sorry, Stefan." She turned around to face her brother-in-law, but he was gone. "Crap."

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	15. How

**Disclaimer: I only own Emma, Adria, and Eliza!**

* * *

As night descended upon the city of New Orleans, Agnes drove Hayley up to a doctor's office in the bayou.

"This is the doctor's office?" Hayley asked, skeptical.

"Dr. Paige is only this far out because Marcel's men kept terrorizing her patients. Go. She won't bite." Hayley nervously left the car and walked toward the clinic. Once she was out of earshot, Agnes called someone on her cell phone. "Send them in now and tell them to do it quickly."

Meanwhile at the Mansion, Damon was drinking. He took his phone and dialed Emma. Emma was frantically searching through the cemetery.

"Hey! Where are you? I've been calling," Emma answered.

"I'm at home. Look. I really need to talk to you about something."

"Damon, Stefan's gone."

"What? What happened?"

"I told him about you and me, and he just…he stormed off and said that he was hungry. Damon, there's an entire graveyard full of people here tonight. And I just got a text from Bex. I think I know where Elijah is."

"Okay. I'm on my way. You go find Elijah." Emma quickly left and in the graveyard Stefan was walking around among the people. He grabbed a bottle of alcohol from a basket and kept walking as he started drinking.

"Stefan?" Caroline called.

"Caroline Forbes, my best friend."

"What, you recognize me?"

"Well, I've studied pictures. You're much hotter in person." He drank some more. "Sorry. I'm a little drunk."

"Yeah. Yeah. I can see that. Are you okay?"

"Well, if by okay you mean heavily spiraling into Ripper oblivion, then yes, I'm dandy."

"Keg-stand guy passed out, so I stole these," said Jesse to Caroline, appearing with two cups.

"Hey. Do you mind just giving us a couple minutes?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah. It's probably a good idea because I can sense from here that you have a paper cut on the palm of your left hand, and I want to rip your entire arm off," said Stefan.

"Stefan!" Caroline yelled. She then compelled Jesse. "Go away. Hide. I'll find you. Jesse left. "Look. I know that you're hungry, but you don't do people, okay? It just…it doesn't end well."

"What about blood bags? Do you have any blood bags?"

"Yes. In the car. Come with me." Caroline turned around and started walking to her car, but Stefan sped away. He found Jesse in a crypt. He vamped out and bit Jesse on the neck.

"There. That wasn't so bad, was it? I did it. I stopped."

"I don't know what you are man, but…"

"Oh, I'm a Ripper. You know what that means? That means I literally can't stop feeding until I rip someone's head off. But look at us. We're working it out."

"Let me out of here, please.

"I know I should let you out. I'm good, right? I'm compassionate. I live with this burning hunger inside of me that allows me to stay in control, but what do I have to show for it, huh?"

"I don't know you, man."

"I have no memories because my brain was fried. My brother, who's been my brother for 160-some-odd years, stole my girlfriend, and my girlfriend let him, so you tell me...what's the point of being good?" He bit Jesse again. Stefan furiously fed on Jesse.

"Hey! Stefan, stop!" Caroline yelled. She pulled Stefan away from Jesse. "This isn't you, ok? You might not remember, but I do. You are better than this. You are not this person."

"I have to go."

"What?"

"I have to leave."

"Stefan." He left. Caroline turned back to Jesse and saw him bleeding profusely. "Oh my God." She bit her wrist and offered it to Jesse. "Jesse, Jesse, drink this. You'll be ok. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I got you into this."

At St. Anne's Church, a priest was cleaning up a very run-down looking church when Emma entered.

"Church is closed. If you want your horror fix, go take a ghost tour," said the priest, briefly looking at Emma before going back to what he was doing.

"I don't much care for ghosts. I am, however, fascinated by window shutters. I noticed the windows of your attic have shutters."

"Are you really interested in shutters?"

"I can assure you it's my current life obsession. What's your name?"

"Father Kieran. And you are?"

"Mildly curious." Father Kieran sighed deeply as Emma noticed a red stain on the nearby wall. "What happened here?"

"St. Ann's used to be the heart of the neighborhood. It's been abandoned for a while now. Since the night of the massacre. Nine seminary students were killed...by one of their own. You're standing on blood."

"I'm not squeamish. Where's the attic?"

"Like I said, the church is closed." Emma flashed in front of the man and compelled him.

"Where is the attic?"

"Past the sanctuary, up the stairs."

"Thank you. Now forget I was here." Emma walked away. After a moment, Father Kieran shook his head as if shaking himself out of a daze. Upstairs, Emma found the attic and opened the door. "I knew it." She tried to enter the room, but she couldn't. Davina somehow had magically revoked her invitation. In the doorway, she saw Elijah lying in his open coffin. His eyes open and he looked toward her. Using his mental abilities, he spoke to Emma in her head, using a memory of them going to an opera in New Orleans in the 1880s as a backdrop. They were both dress in 19th century finery and standing in front of a horse and carriage. "What the bloody hell?"

"Language, Emma," said Elijah from behind her. Emma turned around and saw Elijah smiling at her roguishly.

"Elijah!" She hugged him tightly.

"Your mind is chaotic. Much has happened since I was daggered."

"What is all this?"

"You don't remember? We went to the opera house together. It's a memory that only you and I share. Also, I needed to know it wasn't another one of Davina's tricks."

"Well, how are you even awake?"

"Davina removed the dagger, unaware that doing so even once would negate the dagger's power. In a few hours, I shall be as good as new."

"So, pop me into the attic and we can find a way to get you out!"

"I'm afraid I'm not quite ready to leave yet, Emma. This girl, Davina, she's...curious. Willful, too. Soon, I shall be able to speak to her, perhaps to even propose a truce of some kind. So, if we can end this war between the vampires and the witches, we'll be able to eliminate the threat to Hayley, and her baby. Perhaps then Niklaus and our entire family can finally know peace. In the meantime, I need you to look after Hayley. She is family, so I need her and her unborn child to fall underneath the protection of the Original Families. The Mikaelsons and the Salvatores. Swear to me, Emma." He returned her back to reality where she stood in the doorway.

"I swear," said Emma before turning around to leave. She sent Hayley a text. _Where are you?_ The young werewolf texted back with, _Bayou clinic with doctor._

Meanwhile at St. Ann's, Tim, a friend of Davina's, was playing the violin while Davina watched. Klaus and Cami sat in the pews at the back of the church.

"The boy has a gift. You can't compel a person to play like that," said Klaus.

"I know what you are. It's crazy to me, but at least it makes sense. But this... massacre...was just a pointless, brutal thing. In your life, have you ever heard of anything like that? A good man, an aspiring priest, just goes on a killing spree out of nowhere."

"I've seen quite a lot in my time. The world is a rather awful place. Best to meet it on its own terms."

"No. The world isn't awful. People aren't awful. They want to be good; something makes them bad. Something breaks them down, makes them snap. There are always signs, symptoms, before someone has a psychotic break. The guy who did this had none of them; he didn't drink, he didn't do drugs..."

"You're well-informed on the matter. You knew him, didn't you?"

"His name was Sean. He was my brother. My twin, actually. I can't sleep, I...dream, about what happened, and I hate it, and I hate that I couldn't help him."

"We all must stand alone against our demons."

"What if someday, his demons become mine too?"

"I have some business I should attend to...but before I do–" Klaus placed a hand on her shoulder and compelled her. "You should go, enjoy the music. Put this out of your mind." Cami then left the church.

On Dauphine Street, the music festival for Rememberance Day was well under way. Father Kieran walked down Dauphine Street when he saw Marcel walking around.

"Marcel!" he yelled.

"Father Kieran—welcome back. I wasn't sure when you'd be coming home."

"I can tell, judging by what's been going on in my church attic."

"I didn't think you'd mind. Lord knows I've done you a favor or two."

"I take it you know the Originals have returned? Emma? I saw her earlier, snooping around the church, asking about the attic. She doesn't know I take vervain. You gotta problem on your hands."

"No disrespect, for the grieving process, for you and your church, but just so I know—are you here to help, or are you just going to drop in with criticism?"

"Never forget, Marcel, that you live in this city by the grace of those who know your secret and tolerate you."

"And this city thrives because of me and my people. Anytime that you need a reminder of that, just let me know."

"Marcel? Diego said he lost eyes on the girls," said Evan, having been tasked by Marcel to help the inner circle keep an eye on Davina and Cami.

"To be continued," said Marcel.

In the church, Klaus approached Tim and Davina.

"You two are absolutely adorable! Warms my heart, it really does, but I do need a word with the young lady. So, Tim, go sit down, count to one-hundred-thousand," Klaus compelled. He then turned to Davina. "I assume you know who I am so let's get right to it, shall we? Your current dilemma strikes me as a case of poor alliances. You're loyal to Marcel and yet he keeps you tucked away in an attic. Surely you prefer just a little bit more freedom. And yet Marcel keeps you prisoner."

"Marcel doesn't keeps me prisoner, he keeps me safe. He's my friend."

"Well, I've no doubt he is. For a girl caught in a war between witches and vampires, I might be a better friend. I would keep you safe. And I'd allow you your freedom. If Marcel could do that, why hasn't he done so already? And it does beg the question: If Marcel can't protect you, then what of those you care about?"

"If anyone tries to hurt anyone I care about, I'll kill them."

"Well, then. Sounds like you don't need Marcel at all. Perhaps you've suspected it all along. Your dear friend Marcel tricks you into doing his bidding. And all the while you rot in an attic, alone, while young Timothy moves on with his life." Davina stared intently at Klaus, angry.

"You feel that? That's your blood starting to boil." Klaus groaned as blood hissed. Sweat started to drip from his forehead, so he composed himself and vamp-sped to Tim and placed him in a headlock

"Such a shame to lose him, just as you found him again. And I really did admire your skill with that violin."

"Don't you dare hurt him!"

"Oh, I hope I won't have to, sweetheart. But, then, that depends on you."

"Let him go now!"

"You should know, I don't do well with demands." Davina thrust her open hand out and twisted it, using her magic to break the bones in Klaus' leg. Unfortunately, it took only a moment for Klaus to reset his bones and heal. "Impressive. But you don't want to fight me, love. Innocent people have a way of ending up dead. Your choice, little witch. Swear allegiance to me alone and the boy lives. Stand against me–"

The candles behind Davina flared as Davina got angrier. After a moment, she thrust both hands in front of her and shrieked. Her magic caused paper and books to be blown around by wind, and all the windows in the church to shatter. The glass shards flew backwards, and Klaus and Tim were forcibly blown backwards toward the entrance. Even Davina was knocked backwards by the power of her magic and thrown onto the ground.

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	16. Au Revoir

**Disclaimer: I only own Emma, Adria, and Eliza!**

* * *

In a wooded area of the bayou, Hayley had escaped from the grip of men who were trying to kill her. Hayley had been set up by Agnes at the doctor's office. Hayley kicked one man in the gut and knocked him to the ground. She jumped and kicked a second man down as well, snapping his neck. A third man tried to attack her, but she grabbed a knife from his hands and cut his neck with it as she spun in the air. When a fourth attacked her, she grabbed his shotgun, and knocked him to the ground. She beat him in the head with the butt of the shotgun. Hayley crouched on the ground, and her eyes flashed werewolf-gold as she looked for any more threats. A large, burly man descended upon her, but before Hayley could react, his neck was snapped from behind by Emma, who had just arrived

"Have to say, I'm impressed."

"How did you find me?" Hayley asked.

"Your text got me halfway, vamp hearing did the rest. Who are they?"

"Witches, warlocks, whatever." Emma noticed more men with flashlights in the distance.

"There're more of them. Run!" Hayley reluctantly heeded her warning. "If I had a dollar for every mess the Mikaelsons dragged me into…" Suddenly, Emma was shot in the heart with two arrows, temporarily neutralizing her.

"Emma!" Hayley called. Hayley was then shot in the shoulder with an arrow. She passed out, falling to the ground. A few minutes later, Emma felt her body being shaken.

"Emma, Emma!"

"Damon?" She grimaced. "Arrow." She grimaced as she pulled out the arrow. "I thought you were looking for Stefan."

"That was before I felt you in pain. What did you do here?"

"What?" Emma looked around and saw five bodies, all dead and bloodied. "What the hell? Hayley. We have to find Hayley."

At the church, Davina woke up.

"Tim!" she called. Above her, in the balcony, Klaus was talking on the phone with Emma.

"What do you mean, 'She's missing?'"

"What do you think I mean? There's blood and bodies everywhere, someone's ripped this lot to shreds, and there's no smart-aleck pregnant girl," said Emma.

"Keep looking. I'm on my way." Klaus pulled Tim up to his feet.

"Please. Don't hurt me," said the boy.

"It wasn't my intent to. But, sadly, we've run out of time to play nice." Klaus grabbed Tim and threw him off the balcony onto the floor below. He spotted Tim's violin on the floor, and smiled as he threw it over as well before walking away. Some time later, Tim lay on the floor, surrounded by broken glass. He was severely injured, and his breathing was shallow. Davina found him lying on the floor.

"Tim! Oh no. No please! I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you!"

"One of the tragic consequences of war," said Klaus. "Innocent bystanders. What terrible guilt you'll have to live with, young Timothy's blood on your hands."

"Get away from him!"

"No, no, let's not be hasty. After all, I can heal him. All you have to do is ask."

"Please!"

"For you, Davina, with pleasure." Klaus bit his wrist and fed his blood to Tim. After a moment, Tim pulled away and sighed in relief. Klaus tilted his head toward him and compelled him

"You will forget everything that happened after the concert, including the fact that you saw Davina."

"What? No!" Davina argued.

"If he remembers seeing you, he might come looking. If the witches learn of him, if they know you have a weakness, then poor Tim might end up as leverage in an awful scheme to control you. Again." Klaus pulled Tim up to his feet and compelled him again. "Take your violin case with you. You'll remember losing the instrument backstage after the performance. You really should be more careful." Tim picked up his violin case and left. "All fixed! Now you owe me a favor."

Davina frowned and cried silently as she picked up Tim's smashed violin off the floor. When she looked up again, Klaus had vanished. She walked into the aisle and turned around when she heard Marcel approaching her

"Davina! What happened? What are you doing here?"

"I live here, remember?" Davina replied angrily. She turned away and walked back to her room. Marcel looked at her, confused, and sighed as she walked away.

At the bayou clinic, Emma and Damon were walking around, looking for clues as to where Hayley could be. Suddenly, Klaus appeared.

"Wow! You abandoned your quest for power to help out your family! Having an off day?" Emma taunted.

"Who took her?"

"We don't know," said Damon.

"What do you mean, you don't know? And who killed her attackers?"

"I don't know! I had an arrow in my heart. If it wasn't Hayley who killed them, then…" Emma was cut off by wolves, howling in the distance.

"Lovely. Maybe her cousins will know where she is," said Damon. They walked outside and were speechless. Hayley stumbled toward them, her clothes tattered and dirty. She looked dazed and exhausted. They ran toward her.

"Hayley! What happened? Tell me what happened," said Klaus, rushing to her.

"I can't remember." Klaus examined Hayley for wounds.

"You've completely healed. There's not a scratch on you." Emma closed her eyes knowingly.

"One of the perks of being a werewolf, remember?"

"No, not that fast." Emma ran over to Hayley and wrapped an arm around her protectively.

"Leave her alone. It's the baby. The vampire blood, Klaus' blood in your system. It can heal any wound. Your own child healed you."

"How did you escape?" Damon asked. "Outnumbered, unarmed? Those men were ripped to shreds!"

"I think it was the wolf that's been hanging around. I think it's trying to protect me."

"The witches were supposed to protect you!" Klaus declared. "When I get my hands on Sophie Deveraux–"

"It wasn't Sophie. It was Agnes," Hayley countered.

"Fine! Agnes, Sophie, it's all the same to me! I'll slaughter the lot of them!"

"Not if Elijah gets there first," said Emma.

"Elijah?" Klaus asked.

"Did you find him?" Damon added.

"He's been in touch, and he has a plan. All he asks is that we take care of you," said Emma to Hayley. Hayley smiled.

"Can we go home now? I'd really like to sleep for a few days." Hayley stood up, and Klaus nodded with a smile. When she stood up, she stumbled and started to fall, but Klaus zoomed over to catch her and picked her up.

"I've got you, love. I've got you." Emma, Damon, and Klaus walked toward their car, Hayley still in Klaus' arms.

"We need to talk about something," Damon whispered to Emma.

"Later. I need to drop by the nightwalker bar. Want to come with?" Damon nodded.

At the bar, Marcel angrily talked with his nightwalkers, including Evan and Diego.

"I was crystal clear! Eyes on my girls at all times," Marcel chided.

"What, your girl's little friend sneaks away from YOUR party, and that's our fault?" Diego asked. Marcel scowled at him. "What, Marcel, are you going to send me to the Garden, too?" Marcel snapped Diego's neck and turned around to address the other nightwalkers. They dispersed awkwardly.

"When he wakes up, tell him an apology would have gotten him a lot further than his attitude," said Marcel to Evan. Evan nodded and walked away. After he does, Emma and Damon walked into the bar, Damon slamming the door.

"Awful, what happened to the church. I hear they're calling it a gas leak. Such a pity," said Emma.

"I heard that you were quite a woman on a mission today."

"What can I say? I want Elijah back."

"Is that ALL you want?" Marcel got in her face, but Damon grabbed him by the neck.

"Damon," Emma chided.

"He spied on me. At least let me break a few of his bones."

"Like you could. I'm older than you," Marcel spat. Damon slammed Marcel onto the floor. He groaned in pain.

"And I'm an Original."

"How? The Salvatores were born in the 1800s."

"I happen to know the right people."

"That's enough, Damon." Damon released Marcel.

"I'll be in the car. Don't spend too much time with the trash. I don't want to have to pay another dry cleaning bill." Damon left the bar with a smirk. Emma offered Marcel a hand and he took it. She pulled him up.

"He has a temper," Emma shrugged.

"I noticed. You'll get Elijah back. In the meantime, stay out of this bar, and stay away from my guys."

"What's wrong? You jealous? Afraid they'll abandon you for my coven?"

"No. And I don't need you. I've already found my queen."

"Cami? The bartender? Stop fooling yourself, Marcel. She's comfort food, something to distract you from what you really want, which, after all these years, is impossible to deny, because I'm standing right in front of you. And the real kicker is that you can't have me anymore. Because when you abandoned me, you practically handed me over to another man. The man I married." Marcel walked away, bumping Emma's shoulder. Emma smiled and left the bar.

Meanwhile at Cami's apartment, Cami was looking in her bedroom mirror and saw Klaus standing in the doorway.

"Klaus! What are you doing here?"

"I've had quite a night. I recall you mentioned something about nightmares and insomnia. I believe I can help. Can I come in?"

"This is super weird. Come in." Klaus walked in. "Wait, that's right, I told you what happened. I never tell anybody, but I told you. And you said something about Sean standing alone against his demons. When he killed those men, I thought he must be mentally ill, but what if it was demons? What if a vampire compelled him?"

"And if so, would you devote yourself to finding the guilty party? Would you sacrifice everything to find out the truth? To what end?"

"To what end? This is the entire reason why I'm in New Orleans!"

"Cami, whatever lies on the other end of this mystery will only offer you pain! Nothing will bring your brother back! Your only hope for peace...is to forget this..."

"No"

"...and move on."

"No! Don't compel me to forget this!"

"And if I allow you to remember, the knowledge will eat away at you. Your quest for truth will only put you in danger."

"You don't care about me! You only want me to forget this so I can focus on Marcel! So I'll be a good little spy, for you!"

"I need your loyalty, yes, and though it may appear selfish to you, the scope of my plan goes far beyond myself! Power aside, I am trying to honor my brother!"

"What about my brother? My twin brother. We were bonded our whole lives, and I know, I KNOW, he didn't just snap. And I need to know who did this, and I need to make this right! NO! DON'T TAKE THIS AWAY FROM ME!" Klaus grabbed Cami and compelled her.

"You will do nothing. Your brother was ill. He killed those people and himself, and it was a tragedy. All you can do is move on." He let her go, and tears fell from her eyes as she sat down on her couch. Klaus took her hand in his as he continued to compel her. "Know that your brother is at peace, and that you needn't worry. I will find out what happened, and when I do, I will make sure whoever harmed your brother will suffer. And as for you... Tonight, you will sleep, and you will dream of a world that is far better than this one...a world where there is no evil, no demons, and all people desire only to be good."

In Davina's room at the church, the young witched touched Tim's broken violin. She turned sadly toward her wind chimes and used her magic to telekinetically make them play the song Tim played for her. She heard a floorboard creak and turned, startled. She walked toward Elijah's coffin and turned when she felt a presence behind her. She saw Elijah, looking gray from not feeding.

"It's all right, Davina. I don't mean you any harm, though I do think it's time we had a talk." They both gave each other a small smile.

When Emma and Damon returned home, they saw Stefan burning a box of his diaries in the fireplace.

"Stefan. There you are," Emma said.

"What are you doing there, brother?" Damon asked.

"Well, you know, just tying up a few odds and ends."

"You sure you want to do that?" Damon asked, looking at the burning diaries.

"Well, I know what I don't want. I don't want to be the person in these journals anymore. I don't want to live in this house. I don't want my brother's advice. I don't want to be in the remote vicinity of you, Emma, and I definitely do not want to continue this conversation." He grabbed his bag and started walking toward the door.

"Stefan, wait," said Emma.

"Don't worry. I'm not gonna go on a Ripper binge. Besides, Caroline said she'd call me every hour to make sure I was ok and, uh... I actually do trust her." Stefan left.

"I think we just got dumped," Damon muttered.

"We need Eliza. Why hasn't she called us back? It's so unlike her. He can't stay like this." Damon looked down.

"Emma, remember that thing I said I needed to tell you." Emma nodded. "Eliza can't help us."

"Did you talk to her? What did she say?" Damon approached Emma and placed his hands on her shoulders. He took a deep breath.

"Eliza's dead, Emma."

"What!" Emma yelled, not believing what she was hearing.

"She's dead. I'm sorry."

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	17. Without A Word

**Disclaimer: I only own Emma, Adria, and Eliza!**

* * *

It was early when Klaus walked downstairs to see Damon cooking breakfast in the kitchen.

"What's the special occasion?" Klaus asked.

"Emma's a mess from Eliza's memorial last night. I'm making her breakfast. And can we have no drama today please?"

"That's like asking for the sun not to shine. How's Adria?"

"Good. She's had more time to process the whole Eliza thing than Emma did, but that wasn't who you really wanted to ask about."

"Fine. How's Caroline?"

"Good. Tyler finally showed up at college." Klaus gave Damon a short smile.

"Is Emma up?"

"Yes. Unfortunately, Marcel woke her up. That man has no manners. Always calling when it's too damn early."

"Morning," said Hayley, walking into the kitchen.

"Morning," Damon returned. "Want breakfast? I have leftovers." Hayley covered her mouth. "Ooh. Morning sickness, huh?" She nodded. Suddenly, a pained scream resounded through the mansion. "Emma." Damon ran past Hayley, almost knocking her down in the process.

"Hey. Watch my pregnant lady!" Klaus called.

"My pregnant lady is more important than yours!" Damon returned.

"What!" Klaus yelled before following Damon up the stairs, Hayley trailing behind him. Kol and Rebekah both poked out of their rooms.

"What's going on? I heard a scream," said Rebekah as they followed Klaus. They entered Emma and Damon's bedroom to find Damon crouching beside a screaming Emma.

"He's right. He's right. I am a plague," Emma cried. "She died because of me." Emma then clutched her stomach.

"Damnit. She's going to have a miscarriage. Get me a human! Now!" Damon yelled to Kol. Kol realized what was going on. Emma was pregnant. He immediately sped out of the house and across the street. He found a human walking their dog, compelled him, and sped them into Emma and Damon's room. "Come on, babe. Kol brought a human for you. Drink."

"No. No. I deserve this." Knowing he couldn't get past her hysterics with the short amount of time he had, Damon sped to the man and bit his neck while Rebekah helped Emma up and led her to the blood source. Instinct taking over, Emma fed. Damon stroked Emma's hair as she fed.

"There we go. That's my girl," Damon soothed as he kissed the top of her head. Damon breathed a sigh of relief, knowing the fresh blood would stop the miscarriage.

"I don't believe it," said Klaus. "She's pregnant…again."

"We'll discuss that when I've made sure everything's okay. Call Marcel and find out what the hell he said to Emma that set her off," said Damon. Klaus nodded and everyone left the couple alone. As Klaus walked down the stairs, he called Marcel.

"What did you do!" Klaus yelled through the phone, just as angry as Damon that Emma had been injured by Marcel's words most likely.

"I don't know what you mean, brother."

"Now is not the time to play games with me, Marcellus. What did you say to Emma!"

"Oh, that."

"Yes, that."

"Well, I heard that Eliza died, may her soul rest in peace," Marcel replied sarcastically. "I told Emma that she probably would have been better off if she hadn't turned the bitch. I'm sure you've noticed the trend, Klaus. Everyone around her has a tendency of dying. She's like the plague." Klaus closed his eyes in frustration. Marcel played all of Emma's fears against her.

"You idiot."

"What? It's not like she didn't deserve it. She's treated me like the scum on her shoe since she's been here."

"That's not why you're an idiot! You truly have no timing."

"What happened? She hung up awful quick."

"What happened, you dolt, is that she almost miscarried! Oh God. This is a disaster."

"What do you mean miscarried? Emma can't be pregnant. She's a vampire for God's sake."

"How do you think Adria came into being?"

"They adopted a kid, right?" Klaus sighed.

"No. Adria is their biological child. A blood moon child."

"Wait a minute. Are you telling me that Damon and Emma are _the_ Blood Moon Parents?"

"That's exactly what I'm telling you and Emma's pregnant again and you almost caused the baby to be terminated. Oh, this is bad. Whatever happens, Marcel, I'm not responsible for what Damon does to you."

"I'm not scared of him," Marcel scoffed.

"You should be," Klaus returned ominously before hanging up.

Upstairs, Damon was holding a crying Emma in the shower. Damon stroked her wet hair.

"Shh."

"I'm supposed to be strong. I'm supposed to have learned how to handle this, but…I can't. I can't keep doing this, Damon. Stefan's gone, Eliza's dead. She gave up her life to save our daughter and I didn't even know about it and now I almost lost our son."

"I know."

"I can't believe this is happening. I can't believe she's gone."

"I'm so sorry. I'm sorry."

"I'm so cold. Everything's cold."

"Everything's going to be okay. I'm right here. Don't give up on me now. Don't let Marcel get into your head. You are my sire, my best friend, my beautiful wife, the mother of my children. You are my life, remember?" Emma rested her forehead against Damon's and nodded. "Which means I will help you shoulder the burden. I will fight for you when you are unable to."

"I'm sorry."

"Shh. No apologies are necessary. Just remember what my mother said. Try to keep the stress to a minimum."

"We have to tell the others."

"I can tell them. You should rest. We got lucky."

"No. I want to be there. I'm already feeling better from all that blood."

Damon couldn't help but yield to her begging, "Alright." Emma gasped. "What? What's wrong?" Emma smiled.

"He has the power. I think he's even stronger than Addy."

"What?"

"Nathan. He's an empath."

"Great. Like we all didn't feel enough around here," Damon retorted.

"Don't be mean." Emma ran her hand across Damon's chest. "I can feel it. Your love, devotion, loyalty. Hmm. It's intoxicating. He's letting me feel it. I guess he's going to take after you, always trying to make me feel better." Damon nuzzled her cheek.

"That's my job, babe."

A few minutes later, Damon walked down the stairs, dragging the human Emma had fed on down the stairs and outside into the back yard. He'd dig a grave later.

"Where's Emma?" Rebekah asked.

"Dressing. She's okay. She'll be down soon."

"Good," Rebekah smiled. "Now you can tell us what the hell's going on."

"First thing's first. Klaus! What did Marcel say?"

"I don't think you want me to tell you," said Klaus nervously.

"Nik, spill. Now!"

"Just tell him already," Kol groaned.

"He pretty much said that Emma is the plague and that everyone around her dies so why bother with turning people?"

Damon was silent for several minutes and the Originals waited for the other shoe to drop.

"He's dead," said Damon simply as he headed for the door. Klaus sped in front of him.

"Let's not be hasty now."

"MOVE!"

"You'll ruin everything."

"I don't care. You know how it works, Klaus. Make my Emma cry and you're dead. I almost lost my son! I'm done with being Mr. Nice Vampire and I'm done with Marcel's attitude. It's time he learned a lesson."

"Learned a lesson? So you're not going to kill him?"

"No. I want him to suffer. I'm not going to kill him, Klaus, but I might just make sure he wished he was never born."

"Damon, that's enough," Emma spoke softly. Klaus and Damon turned to see Emma walking tiredly down the stairs. "No more yelling. No more fighting." Damon caught Emma as she stumbled on the steps. "I'm alright."

"No, you're not. You need to rest."

"I'll be alright." Damon picked her up and took her to the couch. Emma sat on his lap, her head resting on his shoulder.

"So does someone want to explain what's going on?" Klaus asked.

"I'm pregnant," Emma admitted.

"We pretty much got that part. Why were we not informed?" Rebekah asked.

"Alright, alright, you two. Back off. Today's been stressful enough for Emma without your interrogations," Damon interrupted. "I'll explain. Two months ago, Emma found out she was pregnant."

"Wait, two months," said Kol. "You should be six months by now. Why aren't you showing?"

"What ever happened to the rule of not interrupting story time?" Damon asked. Emma giggled.

"Huh? I'm confused," said Hayley.

"Let me explain," said Emma. "Blood moon child pregnancies are vastly different from human or in your case werewolf pregnancies. They are highly accelerated, dangerous, and very painful. They can lead to the death of the mother if proper precautions are not taken. Damon and I hoped to avoid what we had to go through last time. So we went to see Damon's mother, my doctor. Her research concerning blood moon pregnancies has made considerable advances. She found a way to slow the growth rate to that of a normal human pregnancy and found a way to reduce the pain through herbal medicine and by drinking quantities of Damon's blood every day. I also have to keep my stress down as low as possible. Too much in combination with the herbs I'm taking can lead to miscarriage."

"Wait a minute. I saw you drinking the other day," said Klaus.

"Mary has thoroughly researched alcohol in relation to vampire pregnancies. It has no effect. The fetus will heal itself, especially if I take blood after. I can drink like I regularly do. We were hoping to tell you about all this after we dealt with Marcel. I didn't think it would take this long, but none of that matters now. What matters is that my son is okay and that we're all on the same page."

"Does Adria know?" Kol asked. Emma nodded.

"She's very excited to have a little brother. Damon, I need my pills. I haven't taken them today."

"I'll get them," Hayley volunteered, happy to see she wasn't going to be alone in her pregnancy woes. "Where are they?"

"Kitchen. Cupboard by the refrigerator," Damon replied. Hayley quickly left the room.

"I need to take your blood too, dear," said Emma.

"Go ahead," said Damon. Emma closed her eyes and felt Damon's pulse. She quickly bit down on his neck.

Meanwhile, Elijah was standing in Davina's attic, focusing on the young witch's pulsing carotid artery.

"You're the one they call honorable," said Davina. Elijah smiled.

"Yes, that's what they call me. And yet, I followed my brother and ex-wife here to New Orleans to engage in a war. So, I ask you: does that sound honorable to you?"

"You don't look well," said Davina, taking in Elijah's gray complexion.

"Well, I had a mystical dagger embedded in my chest yesterday, so I'd say I'm holding myself together quite well. Davina, I believe that you and I have the power to end a war between witches and vampires before it truly begins. I, by keeping my brother in line; you, by behaving as your true self—not some tool for Marcel or the witches."

"And why should I trust you?"

"Well, for one thing, in spite of a ravenous hunger, I have not tried to take your blood."

"Why not? I'm the only one here."

"We Originals have rules. We don't feed from children. It's abhorrent." Davina took a hat pin and pricked her finger with it. A drop of blood clung to the end of the needle, and she placed the drop on Elijah's lip. After a moment, Elijah's skin returned to its normal complexion.

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	18. You Can't Be Told

**Disclaimer: I only own Emma, Adria, and Eliza!**

* * *

Just as Emma finished her feeding at the Mikaelson Mansion, Klaus had brought Sophie into the parlor. Sophie averted her eyes as she saw Emma and Damon kissing passionately, Damon's hand stroking his wife's legs.

"Ugh. Please don't tell me you brought me here to see this, Klaus," Sophie moaned.

"Sorry," said Emma as she separated from Damon's lips.

"She's gets rather amorous after drinking my blood," Damon smirked. Klaus pushed Sophie into a chair.

"We had a deal! You protect my unborn child, I dismantle Marcel's army," said Klaus. Emma sent a look toward Klaus. "_We_ dismantle Marcel's army. Happy?" Emma nodded in approval. "And whilst we've been busy fulfilling our part of the bargain, you allowed Hayley to be attacked and almost killed by a gaggle of lunatic witches." Klaus picked up Emma's leg lying on the other end of the sofa and sat down, letting her bare feet rest on his lap.

"I had nothing to do with it, I swear. Hayley and I are linked, remember? She dies, I die."

"Then who were they?" Damon asked.

"They are a faction of extremists. Sabine stupidly told them about some vision she had about the baby."

"What kind of vision?" Emma asked.

"She has them all the time. They are totally open to interpretation. I'm guessing she's wrong on this one."

"Well, how, may I ask, was this particular vision interpreted?" Klaus questioned.

"Pretty much that your baby would bring death to all witches."

"Great," Damon muttered, sarcastically.

"I grow fonder of this child by the second," Klaus smiled.

"Sophie, look, I have had a very rough morning," Emma began. "I just found out my best friend of eight hundred years is dead and I almost had a miscarriage this morning." Sophie looked shocked. "Yes, I'm pregnant. Story for another time. My point is that I promised Elijah that I would protect the Mikaelson miracle baby whilst he tries to win your witch Davina's loyalty. Why don't you tell me just how extreme this faction is?"

"Elijah's talking to Davina?"

"Yeah. As we speak, I imagine."

"I'm guessing she'll have plenty to say about that crowd."

"Do tell," Damon prodded.

"I...wasn't always an advocate for the witches. My sister was devoted, like our parents, and our upbringing was very strict, which drove me nuts. The minute I turned 21, I left the Quarter to travel...and play. But, I wanted to be a chef, so I came back to Rousseau's. My sister came to see me that day. The elders had called a vote. They were moving forward with the Harvest."

"You have got to be kidding me. You still practice that?" Emma asked, appalled.

"What the bloody hell is a Harvest?" Rebekah asked.

"You know about it?" Sophie asked Emma.

"Of course I know about it. All the black and ancestral magic practiced in the Quarter traces back to my grimoire," said Emma.

"Well, what the hell is it?" Damon asked.

"It's a ritual performed every three centuries. Its purpose is to restore the bond to ancestral magic."

"We appease our ancestors, they keep our ancestral power flowing," Sophie added.

"And why haven't I heard of this?" Klaus asked.

"Because a Harvest always seemed like a myth. A story, passed on through generations like Noah's ark, or the Buddha walking on water. The kind some people take literally, and some people don't. They had the girls of our community preparing for months. Four would be chosen for the Harvest. They said that it was an honor, that they were special. I thought it was a myth."

"I can't believe after all these years they've still been using that barbaric spell. It was the worst one I ever created," Emma groaned. Both Sophie and Emma looked guilty. Damon stroked Emma's back as Klaus' phone rang.

"Marcel, this better be important," Klaus answered. "I have things to do. Like keep Damon from ripping your bloody head off." Damon growled.

"Listen, I'm sorry, but I wanted to talk business with you. I have an empire to run."

"All that responsibility seems like such a bore."

"Well, this might spice things up. I just heard about a bunch of dead witches out in the bayou. The kinda damage a werewolf might do, only there was no full moon. I have an informant out there I need to meet and I would love for you to go with me."

"Dead witches in the bayou. Sounds like less of a problem, and more like a cause for celebration."

"Well, something killed them. And may still be out there. And with your blood the only cure for a werewolf bite, I would love for you to accompany me."

"Oh, why not? Haven't been to the bayou in ages. I'm on my way."

"Peace out, brother." Marcel hung up and Hayley entered the room, handing Emma a bottle of pills and a cup of tea.

"Thank you, dear." Emma took her pills as Sophie begged Klaus to stall Marcel.

"You can't go out there now. I need to gather the witches' remains and consecrate them. If I don't get to them before sundown, we'll lose the link to their magic," she said.

"Those witches tried to kill Hayley. I'd prefer for Marcel's informant not to find anything that would lead him back to us, to her, or to... you know…" Klaus pointed to Hayley's stomach. "That."

"You are all class," Hayley muttered sarcastically.

"Stay put. And save the rest of your story 'til I return."

At St. Anne's Church, Father Kieran was sweeping when Marcel entered.

"Look who's back. Here to visit your prisoner in the attic?" Kieran asked.

"Lay off. She's not a prisoner. And I'm moving her tonight. Too many people know where she is."

"I have been hearing about what you've been up to since I've been out of town. Using that girl to keep the witches from doing magic?"

"All respect, Father K. If you're going defend the witches' rights, we got nothin' to talk about." Upstairs, Davina was drawing while Elijah walked around, holding Tim's damaged violin in his hand.

"Do you play?" he asked.

"That's…not mine." Elijah sat in a chair and tinkered with the violin for a moment, until Marcel's steps could be heard from outside the room. When he entered, Elijah had hidden himself away

"Good news, Little D. I'm moving you out this pile of dust," said Marcel.

"Are you serious? When?"

"Tonight. I just need to lock in the arrangements. How's our Original?" He headed toward the coffin.

"Uh, don't disturb the body! I have a spell in progress."

"Bet you do. Pack up, 'kay? Only what you wanna take. I'll buy ya anything else you need."

"Okay." Marcel left the attic and Elijah appeared from behind a corner.

"You didn't reveal that I was awake," he said.

"We're not done talking yet." Elijah picked up the violin again and sat down.

"You and Marcel seem very close."

"Marcel's my family."

"And yet Marcel is someone who delights in harming the witches. Those people, I would think, you would consider family. This doesn't trouble you?"

"No. They deserve it."

"Why would you say that?"

"'Cause they're liars. All of them. They made me and my friends do this Harvest ritual. They said our participation would bring our family strength, health...that we'd forever be celebrated as saviors of the community. But all they really wanted was more power. So, I left before they could get it. Now, they're running out of time, because after the Harvest, comes the Reaping. And if they don't complete the Harvest, there won't be a Reaping. Soon, all the witches in the Quarter will start to lose their power. Eventually, they will cease to be witches altogether."

"So what does it take to complete this ritual?"

"I have to die." Elijah shifted uneasily, shocked.

At Lafayette Cemetery, Sophie was packing a small bottle into a backpack. Sophie turned around and saw Hayley.

"Hey. What the hell?" she said.

"You're going out there anyway, aren't you? I wanna go with you," said Hayley.

"No, thanks. Already got assaulted by Klaus this morning. Don't need a repeat."

"What if whatever is responsible for all those dead witches is still out there? We've already established that it likes me and hates witches, so you'll be safer with me."

"Sorry if I'm not buying your sudden concern for my safety." Hayley slammed her hand against the wall, forcing Sophie to stop.

"Listen. The whole reason I came to this stupid town in the first place was to learn more about my family. Your sister's the one that told me Marcel ran the werewolves out of the Quarter, into the bayou. And, last night, I'm pretty sure that some guardian-angel-wolf saved my life. So, I'm coming with you."

"Could you two be more idiotic?" Damon asked. Hayley and Sophie both saw Damon and Emma.

"We can play the follow game too, you know," said Emma. "You heard Klaus, he and Marcel are headed right where you're going."

"So distract them," said Hayley. "Because unless you wanna lock a hormonal, pregnant werewolf in a tomb, I'm coming with you. And wouldn't Elijah be mad if he hears that the baby and I died of asphyxiation?" Emma and Damon stared at her, annoyed. Sophie rolled her eyes and sighed again, resigned to having Hayley, Damon, and Emma tag along.

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	19. Devils Crossing

**Disclaimer: I only own Emma, Adria, and Eliza!**

* * *

"What's the matter Emma? You cross that I'm out with your ex?" Klaus asked Emma over the phone.

"Please," Emma scoffed. "Whack him in the head for me if you don't mind. And what is all that dreadful hillbilly ruckus in the background?"

"According to the dreadful signage, it's Big Auggie's Bayou Bar."

"Well, order up a few rounds of moonshine and steer clear of the dead witches for a few. The witch is on a burial mission, your baby mama is on a spirit quest, and Damon and I are keeping Elijah's promise to keep her safe, so stall, please?" Emma hung up and Klaus, angry and annoyed, entered the bar.

"Everything okay?" Marcel asked.

"Oh, just the usual. Emma's such a temperamental vampire and don't even get me started on when she's pregnant. So, where's your informant?"

"Tomas? He's out sniffin' around. Grab a drink, and then we'll chase him down."

"Well, I suppose it will give us a chance to talk things over, like why you haven't returned Elijah. Maybe your young witch has grown partial to his company. She must get so bored."

"You never stop, do you?"

"You never answer, do you?"

"Why're you so curious about Davina?"

"If I had a 16-year-old, all-powerful witch at my beck and call, you would wonder about her, too."

"You're never gonna get her."

"Okay, okay. I'll ask the harmless questions, then. How did you meet her?"

"That might surprise you," Marcel laughed. "This was eight months ago, before I banned the witches from using magic. Relations between vampires and witches weren't what you'd you call friendly, by any means, but let's just say we were a little less... divided. In fact, some of us were getting along just fine, especially me and Sophie if you know what I mean."

"You and Sophie? You hypocrite. You torture those witches, and yet there you were, getting positively Romeo and Juliet with Sophie Deveraux."

"It wasn't like that. It was a...mutually satisfying hook-up."

"So, if Sophie didn't turn to you, her secret vampire lover, in her hour of need, what did she do?"

"She did what any good girl do. She went to her priest. The witches were furious with Father Kieran for intervening. Sophie tells me that the witches put a hex on his nephew Sean, made it seem like he was slowly losing his mind in order to distract Kieran, while they kept planning for the Harvest."

"So they attacked Kieran's nephew."

"Yeah. Kid wasn't the same after that, ended up going postal, killing all his fellow seminary students, all of them, and then himself."

"I might have read about that. The boy...killed a twin, or he was a twin or something."

"Ah, no no no, they said he had a twin sister." Marcel sipped his liquor, while Klaus downed all of his in one gulp, obviously angered at learning that the witches hexed Cami's brother into killing all of those people.

In Davina's attic, Elijah was still fiddling with the violin as Davina packed her suitcase.

"So, enlighten me. What did you mean when you said you had to die?" Elijah asked.

"That's what the Harvest was. They said they'd put us four girls in a state of, like, peaceful limbo as part of the offering. And then later, at the Reaping, we'd awaken and be reborn. I never got as far as the limbo part, which means the Harvest isn't complete. That's why the witches are so freaked out. The Reaping is just around the corner, and if they don't finish it before then, it's over. All I have to do is wait it out."

"And then what?"

"They're punished, and I'm free."

"From Marcel?"

"Of magic. All our power will drain away. I'll be normal." Davina smiled slightly.

"Is that what you want? To be normal?"

"I just don't wanna be what I am. I can't control it sometimes. Magic. I...hurt people. Even when I don't mean to."

"Why don't you tell me about your friends. You must miss them."

"There's Tim. He doesn't know about any of this witch stuff. He's normal. My best friend, Monique. She was a part of the Harvest too. She's lucky. No one ever fought for me, but someone fought for her. The only one who ever spoke out against the Harvest was Monique's aunt."

"And who is that?

"Sophie Deveraux."

In the bayou, Damon helped Emma down a steep incline.

"You should have stayed home. You need to rest," said Damon.

"I'm fine. You worry too much."

"I worry just enough." Emma rolled his eyes and the four continued on a path leading to the dead witches. "So Sophie, this Harvest thingy…tell me more."

"Klaus said to wait."

"Yes. He also said to stay out of the bayou and yet here we are, amongst the crawly, buzzy creatures."

"We're here," said Hayley as they reached the place where the witches were killed. They were all bloodied and ripped apart, and a dismembered head lay near the bodies. Sophie, who looked sick, kneeled down to dig in her bag for the ingredients she needed to consecrate her fellow witches. "Whoa." Hayley noticed a huge paw print in the mud. In a nearby tree, there were three bloody scratches in the bark.

"Is that a wolf track?" Sophie asked. They heard a crunching noise, like footsteps, nearby. Damon stepped in front of Emma.

"Who's there?" he called out. The person approaching them was a male vampire – Marcel's informant, Tomas.

"What the hell? Damon Salvatore." Tomas ran away at vampire speed.

"Damnit," Damon cursed. He pulled out his phone and called Klaus. Klaus walked outside of the bar as he talked to Damon.

"Let me understand this: against all logic, you, Emma, and Hayley went to the bayou, where you ran into a man you think may be Marcel's informant, and then you lost him?"

"Yes, and now that we've established that I am a failure as a friend and an Original, you should probably know he's on his way to Marcel right now to rat me out. Skinny guy in a hurry, looks like he saw a ghost."

"I'll handle it, but I'll need a distraction. I think it's time you and Marcel kissed and made up."

"I'm on my way," Damon smirked. He hung up and swatted at a mosquito that landed on his arm. Klaus entered the bar again.

"Emma again?"

"She craves attention. So come along, you were just getting to the juicy bits."

"I can't joke around about this. I've done a lot in my day, but I do have a rule about kids." As Marcel continued to tell Klaus the story, Davina conveyed the night's events as well to Elijah.

"No one but Sophie ever questioned the Harvest. Not even my own mother. So neither did I. We thought it was such an honor, we had such faith. We were so stupid."

"So how did it begin?"

"We were led out like princesses. My mother was so proud. Bastiana, one of the Elders, called upon the four elements to bind our past and future magic together. Earth, to connect us to our ancestors. Water, to heal the community. Wind, to carry us to our ancestors and back. Fire, to purify. After all our preparation, we knew exactly what to expect. For weeks they told us that the magic in the knife they used to cut our palms would put us to sleep, and that later at the Reaping, we would all be resurrected. They said we'd awaken, and all be together and more powerful than ever. And it was just like we rehearsed it. All that was left was a little cut on our palms for the blood sacrifice. Even after Sophie tried to stop it, we didn't suspect anything. They lied. It wasn't just a little cut on the palm. They needed to slit our throats."

"Everyone involved in the ritual knew that this would happen."

"Except the four of us. They weren't putting us to sleep, they were slaughtering us! I begged for someone to help. My own mother turned away from me. Sophie screamed and screamed for her sister, anyone, to do something. But no one did."

"And yet you survived. Therefore, someone or something intervened."

"Yes. Someone finally did. The vampires. Marcel. Every girl who died released her power on to the next. When I was the last one, I suddenly had all of it, all the power that was supposed to be released back into the earth to appease our ancestors."

"So... the Harvest was actually working?"

"Something was working. And I knew that I was supposed to be killed so the Harvest could be completed and we would all be resurrected. But, they lied to us about how they were killing us. How do I know they weren't lying to us about coming back? But mostly, I just didn't want to die. So, I let him save me. Marcel saved my life." Elijah was disgusted by how Davina was treated, sympathetic toward the girl's plight. At the bar, Marcel had finished telling Klaus of the Harvest as well.

"You're the one who stopped it," said Klaus.

"Kieran knew every detail from Sophie. After his nephew's massacre in the church, he was so torn up. He left town just before the Harvest. But on his way out, he came to me, and he asked me to stop the Harvest. He knew I didn't want the witches getting any more power. And I do have a rule about people abusing kids, so, I did what he asked. But I was too late. There was something about seeing Davina fight back. She didn't just go along to the slaughter, you know?"

"I do...Marcellus."

"I felt like she and I... we were kindred spirits."

"You were quite the knight in shining armor, though Davina must realize you owe her as much as she owes you. You never could have banned the witches from using magic without her."

"She's not exactly besties with them. I'm protecting her. A lot of them would like to get their hands on her and kill her to finish the Harvest. If they don't, the other girls stay dead, and they lose their power."

"And if they you do, you lose yours."

"And Davina loses her life." Klaus turned to see Damon enter the bar. Damon turned around after seeing Marcel, playing his part in Klaus' little charade for Marcel.

"And the guest of honor finally arrives." Klaus grabbed Damon.

"You play dirty, Klaus," Damon grumbled.

"Come now, Damon. Emma wants you two to play nice."

"Is that Wild Turkey? Have some taste, brother. How drunk are you?"

"Skating on the razor's edge. I'm gonna use the loo. Back in a tick." Klaus left and Damon took a seat.

"Listen…about Emma…I didn't…" Marcel hesitated.

"Don't apologize," said Damon after downing a shot. "Because if you do, that means I have to remember what I had to deal with this morning."

"Right. So…how did you two meet?"

"Really, Marcel?"

"Hey. Emma wants us to play nice. I say we indulge the lady."

"1864. Before I left to serve for the Confederacy."

"Ah. A patriot, through and through. Emma was always a sucker for those types." Damon chuckled.

"I was a deserter."

"Really?"

"It went against my principles."

"I can respect that."

"I'm sure you can. I found Emma wandering the family estate one night."

"Did she bite you?"

"She was going to kill herself."

"Oh."

"Because of you." Marcel grimaced.

"Not my shining moment, I admit."

"You're a fucking idiot. What she ever saw in you I'll never know."

"Excuse me?"

"Do you know what you did to her after she left New Orleans? You broke her humanity switch. For fourteen hundred years she'd had her dimmer switch on. And all those centuries of guilt came rushing back like a tidal wave."

"Well, it all worked out. She's not dead."

"You have no idea what we've had to go through to be together. I made the hard choices you were unable to make. Now, let's cut through the bull. The only reason my hands haven't squeezed the life out of you is because I know it would further stress Emma and I don't want to lose my son. However, cross me one more time, make a pass at my wife, and I'll have to reconsider."

"You don't wanna end up on the wrong side of me, Damon."

"Oh, Marcel Gerard. You truly have no idea what I'm capable of. Have you ever heard of the Ripper of Monterey?"

"Yeah."

"He's my brother." Marcel's eyes widened. "And I'm the guy who in 1942 killed twelve witches in the Quarter just to get rid of a sire bond so…you do not wanna be on the wrong side of me." Marcel gulped and downed his drink.

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	20. Fangs

**Disclaimer: I only own Emma, Adria, and Eliza!**

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Klaus walked outside the bar and saw Tomas who had just returned from the bayou.

"Tomas, I presume. Marcel asked me to find out what you know about the dead witches," said Klaus.

"I heard they were going after some pregnant werewolf. She was stupid, being out there all alone."

"Yeah, she was, wasn't she? It's amazing how gullible some people can be." Klaus chuckled and snapped the vampire's neck.

In Davina's attic, Elijah proudly held up Tim's violin.

"You may return this now to its rightful owner. It's restored." Davina took the instrument and stared at it sadly.

"I don't even know if I'll see him again." The room began to shake, as if they were in an earthquake. Elijah and Davina looked around worriedly, and the window shutters burst open as the shaking stopped.

"Davina, this power that you contain, drawn from your fallen friends—it's too much for you. You need control, which requires study and practice. Now, my ex-wife, Emma, and her daughter, Adria are very powerful vampire-witches. Emma still has her human grimoires, a legacy of books filled with spells. These books contain all of the tools that you might need to control your magic and I'm sure she would be willing to help you. If you free me from here, I can share them with you. However, if you leave now with Marcel, we'll never see each other again, and I cannot find you, and I can't help you."

"The witches manipulated me. You know how that ended."

"This is not manipulation. This is one thing in exchange for another. I'm offering you a deal."

At Big Auggie's Bayou Bar, Klaus entered the bar. Marcel was gone and Damon returned from the restroom.

"That was fast work, Damon. Where's Marcel?"

"Huh?"

"He didn't tell you he was leaving?"

"No. Do you think he realized we were stalling him?"

"No. Unless...he was stalling us."

At the church, Marcel burst into Davina's room. Elijah was hiding in his coffin.

"Okay, now's our shot. You ready to blow this joint?"

"Can't wait," Davina smiled. Marcel grabbed Davina's suitcase and the two got ready to leave the room.

"We'll leave Elijah behind as a parting gift. Might buy me a little forgiveness for pulling one over on him. Let's go." The two left the attic, though Davina gave her room a final parting glance before she went. When the two of them were out of earshot, Elijah pulled himself out of his coffin. Downstairs, Marcel walked ahead of Davina. She stopped suddenly in the middle of the church's main room, and he turns to look at her. "What's wrong? What's happening?" The church started shaking, and Davina's body tensed up as her body started to spasm.

"I don't know. Something's wrong. Marcel. There's something dangerous out there. Take me back!" Davina passed out and Marcel caught her.

"Damn it." He picked her up and carried her back to her room. Upstairs, Elijah waited in the doorway and smiled. He had hidden by the time Marcel brought her back up to her room and put her into bed. He tucked her in under her blankets, and after looking at her for a moment, he took his leave. Once he was gone, Davina opened her eyes and lifted her head.

"Elijah?" Davina called out.

"I'm pleased you stayed," said Elijah, coming out of hiding.

"You'll keep your promise about Emma's spell book?"

"I will. You know, difficulties aside, I value my family above everything. I am sorry that yours failed you."

"Your brother Klaus handed you to Marcel in a box, yet you still don't give up on him?"

"Well, I've given up on giving up. It's an affliction. I will fight for my family until my last breath."

"And I'll fight the witches until mine." Downstairs, Marcel ran into Father Kieran.

"Now what? You just gonna leave her up there for anybody to find?"

"I'm not in the mood, Kieran."

"You were supposed to get her out of New Orleans after the Harvest. We failed those other three girls, we didn't fail her. That is why I came to you for help. That was the plan."

"Plans change."

"Especially after you found out how powerful she was."

"Let's get something straight. For eight months since you left, I've been running this town just fine. I don't need you coming back and gettin' in my business. I will do what I want, where I want. Got it?"

"You wanna be the boss? You wanna call the shots? Fine! But I call the shots with the humans! And you don't wanna make an enemy of me. So, I would suggest one thing—stay away from my niece."

"Fine. Who the hell's your niece?"

"Cami." Marcel stopped in his tracks and considered this news for a moment, before huffing in frustration and leaving. Later outside the Abattoir, Marcel walked into the courtyard where Klaus was waiting for him up on the top of a cement barrier.

"Taking me on a field trip to distract me. Pathetic. And obvious—I taught you better than that," said Klaus.

"You taught me to protect what's mine. You will not take Davina from me—end of story."

"An immutable law of nature, Marcel, is the strong always take from the weak."

"Oh, if you were so strong, you wouldn't have run away from New Orleans like a little bitch, all those years ago." Suddenly, Damon attacked Marcel.

"Hey, buddy. You've been playing king with a bunch of children for too long." Damon punched Marcel. "I've been waiting to do that for a long time. You know, Nik, it almost feels cathartic. A lot better than all those times I punched Stefan for salivating over Emma."

"Probably best to get all that pent up rage out," Nik suggested.

"I thought we had an understanding," said Marcel to Damon.

"Problem is I have a rule. People who make my Emma cry end up dead. You may think you know her, but you aren't even close."

"Oh really? Is that why she had a breakdown? I'm assuming that's why you're so pissed. Afraid I can reach parts of her you can't? Such a coward. How the hell is she attracted to you?" Damon kicked Marcel into a wall.

"You know nothing about her!" Damon roared. "You have no idea of the pain she's endured! If you cared anything about her, you wouldn't have let her guilt consume her, taunt her, you would have been there when she was being consumed by a malach, you would have been there to help her revive her magic, you would have been there when she was on her fucking deathbed giving birth to my daughter! But no, _you_ were too much of a coward. _I_ was the one who cured her of the malach. _I_ was the one who helped her get back her magic. _I_ was the one who has helped her through everything! _I_ clean up the messes! _I_ am the one she found happiness with. We have a beautiful daughter and a son on the way and what do you do? You screw it up! You're more of a fuck-up than my brother! It took me twenty years to get her to where she is now!"

"What are you talking about?"

"The Rio Massacre, you dumbass!"

"Rio? That…twenty years ago…that was Emma?"

"We had a problem with our communication skills. And she bloody lost it. It has taken me every day for twenty years for me to get the old Emma back and it will be a cold day in hell if I let you unravel all the blood, sweat, and tears I have given up into putting the love of my life back together!"

"Don't mistake us for your nightwalker lackeys, Marcel," said Klaus as he jumped down from the banister. "We are Original vampires. We take what we want which means I can take Davina anytime I like." Marcel lunged for Klaus, but he was knocked back down by Elijah, who had appeared out of nowhere.

"Do forgive me, Marcel. If anyone is to teach my brother a lesson...it's me," said Elijah. Damon sighed. Here we go again.

Meanwhile at the Mikaelson Mansion, Emma poured several drinks as she spoke with Hayley.

"I don't care if we have to get you a leash, that was your last trip to the bayou. What is it with you and those wolves, anyway?" Emma asked as she handed a drink to Rebekah.

"I feel like we're connected somehow. I don't know. Maybe it's just some pipe dream that I have of finding any real family out there. But sometimes, when I feel like it's me against the world, it keeps me going." Emma gave Hayley a sympathetic look and handed her a drink. Hayley side-eyed her, and Emma suddenly remembers that Hayley can't drink.

"Oh, right." Emma downed Hayley's drink. "God, I'm glad I can drink and be pregnant at the same time. When I had Addy, it was a real bitch. Now, as for being in it alone, how dare you? I don't ruin a perfectly fabulous pair of boots traipsing through the bayou for just anyone." Hayley smiled, and Emma downed her second drink. Their conversation was interrupted by Klaus walking through the front door.

"Nik, finally," said Rebekah. "What…" Elijah walked through the door, Damon behind him. Rebekah ran to Elijah and hugged him tightly. "Elijah! You're safe!" Elijah saw Emma over Rebekah's shoulder. They smiled at each other before Emma left the room.

"Now that you're home, is your first plan to kill Niklaus?" Kol asked.

"Excuse me. Just a moment."

"Where's he going?" Rebekah asked. Elijah walked out the back door to find Emma, standing on the back patio, the wind blowing through her hair softly. Emma turned to see him.

"I believe congratulations are in order. Damon tells me you're pregnant again," said Elijah.

"I am. I'm glad you're back."

"Me too." The two looked at each other for a moment and then Emma slapped him.

"Scare me like that again and you'll get more than just a dagger in the heart." Elijah touched his face where she slapped him, and smiled to himself. A few minutes later, the Mikaelsons, the Salvatores, and Hayley sat in the study where Elijah stood behind the desk and explained everything he had learned from Davina that day.

"Everything that brought us here to New Orleans was a lie. This story that Sophie Deveraux fabricated, this struggle for control of the French Quarter, this war between vampires and witches, wasn't over territory at all, this was over Davina. Eight months ago, Sophie Deveraux and her sister Jane-Anne lost everything. Now, four months after that, a young pregnant girl wanders into their restaurant. Suddenly, all hope is renewed. Jane-Anne actually sacrificed her life so that her sister can use you to find Davina. If Sophie Deveraux is successful in capturing Davina, she can return Jane-Anne's daughter back to life. We thought we'd come here to wage a war for power. This is about family. In order to return her niece to life, Sophie Deveraux will fight to the death. That makes her more dangerous than anyone."

"Then we'll have to be all the more prepared," said Damon. Elijah nodded in agreement.

"We can speak more of it in the morning," said Emma. "I'm exhausted. I'm going to bed. Damon?"

"I'll be up in a bit." Hayley and the other Originals filtered out of the room.

"She's different from the time I got into her head," said Elijah as he shut the door so the two could talk.

"Marcel got under her skin. She almost miscarried."

"You know it's more than just that."

"Yeah. Eliza."

"Have you considered what you're going to do about that?"

"Yeah. I have a plan."

"Care to enlighten me?"

"Emma and I both have plans for this town. Plans we can't tell Klaus."

"Plans concerning Marcel."

"Yes."

"He hurt her deeply. Even though we are no longer together, I have always cared for Emmalyne. That will never change. I assure you, Damon, I want to make him suffer just as much as you do."

"Good. Then we're on the same page."

"We are. Now how are you going to get rid of this Silas fellow?"

"You'll like it. It's just your style. We get rid of Silas, we get Eliza back."

"And how are you going to achieve that?"

"For this to work, Elijah, you'll have to give up something, a certain Petrova you've been known to be fond of."

"Katerina. With Emma pregnant and Katerina still holding a grudge against her, I'm afraid she's become too much of a liability. If it's the only way to get rid of Silas and get my brother's wife back, then do it."

"And after that?"

"Then we'll make Marcel pay." Damon smirked as Elijah left the room.

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